GOAL 50 2021: Lionel Messi crowned Men’s Player of the Year after historic fan vote
Lionel Andres Messi has been crowned winner of this year’s GOAL50 awards in the men’s category.
Having won his first major honour at senior international level with Argentina, the Copa America, Messi has equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of five GOAL50 triumphs.
The new PSG star earned a record-extending eighth top-scorer award in La Liga with Barcelona before picking up the Golden Ball and Golden Boot at the Copa America, where Argentina won a first major international tournament since 1993.
He pipped his great rival to the top spot by just 24 votes, a remarkably minuscule margin of victory.
Over 14 million votes were cast in the men’s section alone, with Messi’s battle with Ronaldo going right down to the wire.
All-time men’s international leading goalscorer Ronaldo led the voting going into the final 24 hours, with the polls closing at 1400 UK time on Tuesday, but Messi claimed a 50.1 per cent share of the vote against him.
Messi’s narrow victory in his head to head with third-placed Robert Lewandowski (53.3% to 46.7%) also proved crucial to his overall victory.
Elsewhere, Liverpool’s Egyptian sensation Mohamed Salah finished fourth, with Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe rounding off the top five.
