
The 2021 Ballon d’Or returned some sense of normalcy to the soccer/football world after the ceremony was cancelled in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
And while Lionel Messi captured the award for the seventh time, he did so in Paris Saint-Germain colors for the first time. The Argentine had traded in his Blaugrana shirt for PSG’s blue in one of the most shocking transfers ever. Though, like years past, Messi stepped up at the ceremony to receive the award.