No one will ever dispute that Messi is still one of the best players in the world and one of the all-time greats, but his seventh Ballon d'Or has brought about different reactions.
Many people felt like it was a reach compared to what Robert Lewandowski accomplished for Bayern Munich and Poland in 2021.
Lewandowski won more trophies and scored 23 more goals for club and country.
The Polish striker has maintained his consistency as he has not stopped finding the back of the net since the start of the year, continuing what's now a years-long, nonstop scoring spree.
The final voting tally was tight as Messi got 613 points over Lewandoski who had 580 points, a mere 33 votes separating the two.
Messi even went out of his way in his acceptance speech to recognize Lewandowski.
"I think that you deserve your Ballon d'Or, last year everyone was in agreement that you were the winner and I think that France Football should give you the Ballon d'Or that you deserve, and to have it since you earned it and you won it last year. Hopefully, France Football could deliver it to you and you can have it in your home. You were the rightful winner last year. It couldn't happen because of the pandemic, but I think you should also have it in your home," Messi stated.
It was a coincidence that they came up with a new award in 2021 to honor the best striker in the world. Lewandowski won it, and it felt like an early consolation prize a short time before Messi was announced as the men's Ballon d'Or winner.
More than 170 media members around the world submitted a top-five vote for the Ballon d'Or by the October 24, deadline.
The media members were asked to vote based on:
1. Individual and team performance in 2021.
2. The player's talent and sportsmanship.
3. The player’s overall career.
What’s clear is that there's a strong argument that Lewandowski edges Messi in the first two categories.
The hard question that should be asked is who had the best 2021? And that’s where Lewandowski stands apart.