@leomessi on instagram
By: Katherine Medina and Josh Hudak
On the night of Nov 29, 2021 the Argentinian global superstar, Lionel Messi, won his 7th Ballon d’or in Paris, France. The event took place in the Théâtre du Châtelet opéra house.
The 26lbs, $3,300 trophy bathed in gold was gifted to the FIFA player of the year. Lionel Messi was the 2021 Ballon d’or winner, which translates to “Ball of Gold” Messi’s seven Ballon d’or trophies combined weigh more than the superstar himself.
Polish Bayern Munich forward player Robert Lewandowski was the second contestant but failed to acquire the golden ball.
In Messi’s speech he thanked his family, teams, and management as they were a part of his award. Although Messi agreed to a $80 million dollar transfer to football club Paris Saint-Germain, he would never forget to mention his beloved team FC Barcelona. He played approximately 21 years for the Spanish club. Messi then proceeded to mention Lewandowski saying that he deserved to win the 2020 Ballon d’or last year. Messi said that complication with the pandemic prohibited them from having a ceremony but that France Football should send Lewandowski his very own 2020 Ballon d’or trophy.
After Messi’s speech, he was pulled to the side as the crowd cheered for him and his accomplishments.The humbled player cherished every moment as it is well deserved. Moments went by and former FCBarcelona teammate, Luis Suarez, strided down the stage with the Ballon d’or in hand which he presented to Lionel Messi.
@antonelaroccuzzo on instagram
Messi wore a stunning sparkly black tux and plain black tie which matched his three sons’ outfits, Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro. Antonella Roccuzzo, Messi’s wife, wore a shiny golden dress to the event.
This grand ceremony brought excitement to the Salisbury soccer community.
High school boys soccer coach, Mr. Hahn had this to say upon his opinion on the winner: “I think it’s very impressive for a man like Lionel Messi to get his 7th Ballon d’or. To be 34 years old like he is and just continue to have that mindset to always be better and get better at that age is just incredible. He now has his 7th Ballon d’or which puts him in place to be considered the greatest of all time.”
Senior Varsity Captain Nick Amado expressed this: “I think Messi definitely deserves to win the Ballon d’or. He’s the best player in the world and he showed that in the past several years. Even though Lewndowski, who was the second contestant for the award, scored a lot of goals, it was nowhere compared to Messi.” Nick himself had a very successful goal scoring fall season on the boys soccer team. He banged out 19 goals and had 11 assists.
Sophomore Isaac Bueno had this to say: “It was pretty tight between Messi and Lewandowski. They were both playing incredible this year but Messi achieved a little bit more.” Isaac plans on joining the boys soccer team Fall of 2022.
So what is next for Messi? He will be focusing on the UEFA Champions League as he will work hard with Paris Saint-Germain. Repping the newly #30 jersey has flipped soccer culture completely upside down as the news was shocking. Lionel Messi was known as the #10 Argentinian player who mastered the ball to demolish the net, leaving the goalies in complete shock. There is no doubt that Messi is the best of all time and the seven Ballon d’ors just proves it.
@adidas on instagram
7 gold statue goats are displayed in Paris, France by adidas company honoring Lionel Messi’s 7th Ballon d’or. Each goat is surrounded by 7 trophies.
Leave a Reply