Ballon d'Or rankings: Ronaldo falls to 6th, Haaland outside top 10

Lionel Messi edged out Robert Lewandowski to claim a record-extending seventh Ballon d’Or on Monday, ending a bittersweet year on a high after he left Barcelona and won the Copa America in the summer.

Lewandowski settled for second place despite breaking Gerd Muller’s long-standing single-season Bundesliga scoring record with 41 goals in 2020-21.

Jorginho, an early favorite for the Ballon d’Or after playing every minute of Italy’s Euro 2020-winning campaign, ranked third.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who was absent from Monday’s ceremony, finished in sixth. It’s the first time he’s finished outside the top three since 2010 when he also dropped to sixth place.

Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was named the best player at Euro 2020, rounded out the top 10.

Simon Kjaer, whose life-saving measures helped Christian Eriksen recover from cardiac arrest at the summer tournament, finished in 18th place, while Pedri, who won the Kopa Trophy as the world’s best player under the age of 21, ended up in 24th.

Rank Player Club Country Voting Points
1 Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain Argentina 613
2 Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich Poland 580
3 Jorginho Chelsea Italy 460
4 Karim Benzema Real Madrid France 239
5 N’Golo Kante Chelsea France 186
6 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United Portugal 178
7 Mohamed Salah Liverpool Egypt 121
8 Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City Belgium 73
9 Kylian Mbappe Paris Saint-Germain France 58
10 Gianluigi Donnarumma* Paris Saint-Germain Italy 36
11 Erling Haaland Borussia Dortmund Norway 33
12 Romelu Lukaku Chelsea Belgium 26
13 Giorgio Chiellini Juventus Italy 26
14 Leonardo Bonucci Juventus Italy 18
15 Raheem Sterling Manchester City England 10
16 Neymar Paris Saint-Germain Brazil 9
17 Luis Suarez Atletico Madrid Uruguay 8
18 Simon Kjaer AC Milan Denmark 8
19 Mason Mount Chelsea England 7
20 Riyad Mahrez Manchester City Algeria 7
T21 Bruno Fernandes Manchester United Portugal 6
T21 Lautaro Martinez Inter Milan Argentina 6
23 Harry Kane Tottenham England 4
24 Pedri** Barcelona Spain 3
25 Phil Foden Manchester City England 2
T26 Gerard Moreno Villarreal Spain 1
T26 Ruben Dias Manchester City Portugal 1
T26 Nicolo Barella Inter Milan Italy 1
T29 Luka Modric Real Madrid Croatia 0
T29 Cesar Azpilicueta Chelsea Spain 0

Messi scored 38 goals in all competitions for Barcelona last season and helped the club win the Copa del Rey – its first title since the 2018-19 season – before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain. He also achieved one of his dreams in July when he lifted the Copa America, his first major triumph with Argentina’s national team.

*Won the Yashin Trophy as the world’s top goalkeeper

**Won the Kopa Trophy as the world’s best under-21 player