Ballon d’Or 2021: Football stars, managers, and ex-players pick their favorites to win the award

The 2021 Ballon d’Or ceremony is in less than 20 days, and stakeholders have been predicting who will win the most prestigious individual award.

The 2021 award is more anticipated than usual, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented the ceremony from taking place in 2020.

France Football, the award’s organizers, has already released the list of 30 stars competing for the award this year.

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While Lionel Messi, former Barcelona icon and now Paris Saint-Germain forward, is vying for his seventh award, Cristiano is vying for his sixth, and others such as Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Kevin De Bruyne, and Karim Benzema are all contenders.

At this point, coaches, players, and ex-players act like regular fans, rooting for their favorite team to win the trophy.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho, Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kante appear to be the frontrunners for this year’s award.

According to reports, some top footballers and ex-football stars are rooting for these players to win the award:

Messi:

Gerard Pique, Ronald Koeman, Mauricio Pochettino, Marco Verratti, and Pedri are among the players who have publicly backed Lionel Messi.

Lewandowski:

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Kevin De Bruyne, Iago Aspas, and Rafa Marquez have all publicly tipped the Bayern Munich and Poland star for the award.

Jorginho:

Giorgio Chiellini and Patrice Evra, who both want N’Golo Kante to win, have backed the Chelsea star.

Benzema:

Real Madrid’s star has the support of tennis legends Rafa Nadal, Roberto Carlos, and Ronaldo Nazario.

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is among the heavyweights backing Cristiano Ronaldo to win a sixth Ballon d’Or.