170 journalists took part in the votes for the Ballon d'Or 2021, won by Lionel Messi last Monday on the stage of the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
The Argentinian, seven-time winner of the highest and symbolic award for a footballer, edged Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho.
Announced among the three big favorites, Karim Benzema failed at the foot of the podium.
In its Saturday edition, France Football lifted the veil on the details of the votes of colleagues who took part in the ballot.
As a reminder, each journalist had to give a ranking of five players with points awarded according to positions (6 in the 1st, 4 in the 2nd, 3 in the 3rd, 2 in the 4th and 1 in the 5th).
And as usual, certain choices confirm, surprise or… clash.
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Honor to the winner, Lionel Messi, expected with Paris SG this Saturday in Lens, is logically at the top of this ranking by being placed first on 59 occasions.
In Argentina, of course, he won the vote with a first place which will not surprise anyone.
Nobody did better than him on this point and in particular Robert Lewandowski, second in the end with only 33 points behind in the final standings (612 against 580).
The Pole is not left out since he was ranked 47 times in the lead by our colleagues and in particular in France by the vote of Pascal Ferré, the big boss of France Football.
Benzema 10 times in first place and shunned by Algeria
Obviously disappointed by his fourth place, he who aspired to win his first Ballon d'Or, Karim Benzema will keep a keen eye on the details of the votes. The Frenchman has been classified ten times in first place, notably in Spain, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Oman, Madagascar, Togo… but not in France where he is only 3rd behind Lewandowski and Messi. In Algeria, from which he has his origins, he does not even appear in the top 5.
On the side of the other French people, N'Golo Kanté, ranked 5th in 2021 with 186 points, in particular for his victory in the Champions League with Chelsea, was able to count on sometimes surprising support.
The Blues and Blues midfielder was ranked first in Azerbaijan, Estonia, Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe.
9th in the ranking this year, Kylian Mbappé can console himself with a first place awarded to Cameroon and Uzbekistan.
