Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or for the seventh time and has surpassed his arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo for the same. CR7 has received Ballon d'Or five times in his career. After winning the award, Messi doubted if the feat can ever be matched. "I don't know if the record is beatable. I just have to accept it but I’m not sure if it can be beaten. Seven is really impressive," Messi said during a post-ceremony press conference. Now it would be interesting to see what Ronaldo fans feel about this feat. Barcelona Congratulates Former Captain Lionel Messi for Winning Seventh Ballon d’Or Award, Catalan Giants Celebrate Pedri’s Kopa Trophy 2021 Win. 

Messi was adjudged as the winner of Ballon d'Or 2021 and he went on to beat the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, Kevin de Bruyne and Karim Benzema. Cristiano Ronaldo was also nominated for the gong but was not a sure-shot favourite for winning the award. While the football stalwarts like Kylian Mbappe, Paulo Dybala, Neymar Jr and others hailed Lionel Messi for his feat, the likes of Iker Casillas and Tony Kroos felt that the Argentine did not deserve the award.

Toni Kroos and Cassilas both posted tweets on social media and lashed out at Ballon d'Or for the decision. The Spaniard added, "It is increasingly difficult for me to believe in football awards. Messi is one of the best but you have to know who is the most outstanding player after the season. It's not that hard." Iker Casillas also posted a tweet on social media and said that Benzema would be his choice for Ballon d'Or.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 01, 2021 12:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).