Lionel Messi has edged out Robert Lewandowski to the 2021 Ballon d'Or award, a seventh of his magnificent career.
World football's most prestigious individual accolade was back up for grabs this year, with the ceremony taking place in Paris on Monday, where Messi was announced as the winner with Lewandowski second.
The Bayern Munich striker would almost certainly have won his maiden Ballon d'Or in 2020, only for France Football to decide not to hand out the award due to the coronavirus pandemic, and was pipped by Paris Saint-Germain star Messi this year in the running for the 2021 iteration.
Lewandowski did get the consolation prize of the inaugural Striker of the Year award.
Was it the right choice, though? Using Opta data, Stats Perform assesses why the Argentinian may have been awarded this year's prize.
Last season: Barca swansong v Muller's record
Few anticipated that the first half of 2021 would also be the final half-season of Messi's time at Barcelona.
His sensational free transfer to PSG at the end of the campaign was forced by financial issues at the Catalan club, and he bid a tearful goodbye to the Camp Nou, but not before signing off with a few more goals.
Messi's last LaLiga campaign before heading off to France saw him bag 30 goals in 35 games, with a further five in six Champions League games.
However, team awards were scarce, with just a Copa del Rey to show for his efforts. Barca finished a meek third in LaLiga, and were eliminated – somewhat ironically – by PSG in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Something that may have counted against Lewandowski was his own lack of silverware compared to the previous year, where he and Bayern hoovered up a remarkable treble, including the Champions League. They did though still retain the Bundesliga title with relative ease, as well as clinching the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
They were eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage, also by a pre-Messi PSG, though this can hardly be blamed on the Polish striker, who missed both legs of the tie through injury.
Lewandowski himself remained in outstanding form, and last season broke Gerd Muller's 49-year record for goals scored in a single Bundesliga campaign, netting 41 for Die Roten in just 29 league games, with a deadly shot conversion percentage across the season of 29.93.
It may have been Messi's superior creativity that helped sway the judges, creating 77 chances in his 35 league games, 22 of which were big chances, compared to 32 and nine from Lewandowski in his 29 league appearances in Germany.
The former Barca man did only manage two more assists than Lewandowski (nine to seven) but completed 159 dribbles and 1,068 successful passes ending in the final third, compared to the Pole's 22 and 237. Of course, it should be noted that Messi's role is typically a deeper one than Lewandowski's, so those latter statistics are not too surprising.
This season: New adventures v same old story
Messi's start to a new life in a new league has not exactly matched the inevitable expectations that accompanied his arrival in Paris.
The 34-year-old has just one goal in seven appearances in Ligue 1 with a shot conversion percentage of just 4.17, though he does have three in four Champions League games for Mauricio Pochettino's side.
Lewandowski has continued to plunder goals against all-comers, with 25 goals in 20 games in all competitions for Bayern, including an incredible nine in five Champions League games, and his shot conversion rate is currently even better than last season at 30.86 per cent.
In all competitions, the former Borussia Dortmund striker has played almost twice as many games as Messi (20 to 11) so it is tricky to compare them too accurately in terms of output, but Lewandowski has created 26 chances to Messi's 18, with six big chances created to five, while Messi has the edge on assists (three to two), dribbles completed (22 to 20) and successful passes ending in the final third (222 to 146).
So far you would have to say it is the Pole who is impressing most in the current campaign, having also had a more productive season last time out, so where exactly did Messi win this award?
Internationals: Argentina v Poland
Despite being an individual award, there is no doubt that team accolades often play a big part in swaying the judges, and an eventful pre-season for Messi at club level was arguably the only thing that could possibly have overshadowed what happened at international level as he finally lifted his first trophy in an Argentina shirt.
Messi scored four goals and gave five assists as he led the Albiceleste to their first Copa America title since 1993, being involved in nine of the 12 goals scored by Argentina at the tournament.
Lewandowski, on the other hand, had less success at Euro 2020, with Poland crashing out at the group stage of the re-arranged tournament.
Their star striker still managed to score three goals in three games for his country, but was unable to force them into the knockout stages.
Very little creates debate in football quite like the Ballon d'Or, and on the face of it this year's trophy could have gone either way, with honourable mentions for the likes of Jorginho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah and Karim Benzema.
It is Messi's Ballon d'Or in 2021 though, and it seems that Copa America success is what tipped it in his favour. PSG fans will be hoping that a domestic trophy haul over the next 12 months can see him installed as favourite to secure his eighth award next year, ahead of potentially his last attempt at World Cup success with Argentina.
Jokic salutes 'special' Edwards after influential Game 1 display
Nikola Jokic paid tribute to "special player" Anthony Edwards following the Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard's influential display against the Denver Nuggets.
Edwards notched up a career playoff high of 43 points as the Wolves drew first blood in the Western Conference semi-finals series with a 106-99 victory over the reigning champions in Game 1.
The two-time NBA All-Star shot 17-for-29 - including seven-for-10 on jump shots - seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal to become only the second player aged 22 or under in postseason history after Kobe Bryant to record successive 40-point performances.
Edwards has now scored 119 points across his last three playoff outings; the highest tally by a Wolves player across a three-game span in their postseason history.
The 22-year-old's exploits caught the eye of last season's NBA Finals MVP in Jokic, who shot just 11-for-25 (and two-for-nine from three-pointers) and conceded a game-high seven turnovers as the Nuggets surrendered home-court advantage at Ball Arena.
"To be honest, he's a special player," he said of Edwards. "I have huge respect for him; he can do everything on the floor. You need to give him respect for how good and how talented he is."
Minnesota have looked inspired during the playoffs, with a sweep of the Phoenix Suns helping them advance beyond the opening round for the first time since their only previous semi-final appearance in 2004.
And Edwards insists he and his team-mates are not daunted by the prospect of appearing in unfamiliar territory.
"Going against the best player in the world is always fun, going against the best team in the world is always fun," he said. "Our guys came out and competed, so it's not about me personally, it's about my team.
"It's not about introducing ourselves to anybody; we know who we are. We're coming out and as long as we've got each other's backs, it doesn't really matter what anybody else thinks."
Simeone insists Atletico 'cannot stop pushing' after narrow Mallorca win
Diego Simeone insists Atletico Madrid "cannot stop pushing" in their pursuit of Champions League qualification after a narrow 1-0 victory over Mallorca.
Los Rojiblancos tightened their grip on fourth place in LaLiga, with Rodrigo Riquelme's fine individual effort in the fifth minute enough to secure back-to-back wins.
With four games remaining, Simeone's side moved onto 67 points, six clear of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who they beat 3-1 last weekend.
The Atleti boss was thrilled by his players' performance levels, but has urged them not to rest on their laurels.
"The team interpreted the plan very well," he said. "The commitment was incredible from [Angel] Correa to [Jan] Oblak to play an intelligent game from a defensive point of view.
"After the goal, we controlled the game. We defended as a team and did a great job. We need to continue improving, and we can't stop pushing until the season is over."
Echoing his manager's thoughts, defender Axel Witsel told Movistar Plus+: "It was very important to win. We wanted to win and stay six points ahead. We have to keep it up.
"After Riquelme scored a fantastic goal, we managed to stay well-organised to secure the result."
'It can only get better' - Sabalenka leaving Madrid Open 'with positive thoughts' despite Swiatek defeat
Aryna Sabalenka is encouraged by her run to the Madrid Open final and feels her performance levels "can only get better", despite defeat by Iga Swiatek.
In a repeat of last year's showpiece, the world number two went down 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) in a thrilling encounter with the Pole, who avenged her loss from 12 months ago.
Sabalenka, who saw three championship points go begging, narrowly missed out on becoming only the second woman to win three titles in Madrid after Petra Kvitova.
Nevertheless, the reigning Australian Open champion reached her first final since triumphing in Melbourne, while extending her winning streak in the Spanish capital to 11 matches before defeat to the world number one.
"I really want to see many more finals against [Swiatek]. I want to see more wins than losses," she said. "But I really hope that we'll be able to keep the level or increase the level every year.
"I'm happy with the level I played, with the effort I put into this match and into this week. I'm leaving Madrid with positive thoughts.
"Probably when I broke [Swiatek] in the third set, I should have been more focused on my serve. But at the same time, it's not like I double-faulted; she played great tennis, and she broke me back.
"I think after the Australian Open, I struggled for a couple of months. It's been intense. I'm super happy that, here in Madrid, I was able to bring it all together and be able to get back to my level. It can only get better from now on."
Swiatek was not to be denied a third title of the season - a tally only matched by Elena Rybakina - and she has now won each of her last seven WTA Tour-level finals since losing out to Sabalenka in Madrid last year.
The three-time French Open champion has also now triumphed in every European clay court tournament at WTA 500 level or higher.
"When I look back in maybe a few years, it will mean a lot," the Pole said. "But for now, I'm just happy that I won this tournament anyway. It doesn't matter to me if I won it before or not. I try to win each tournament that I play.
"I think it was more about who was going to be less stressed and who was going to be able to play with more freedom.
"For most of the match, I felt like some decisions [from her] were pretty courageous. I was sometimes a little bit back. So, in the end, I just wanted not to do that and to also be courageous.
"I don't know what made a difference. I think we both deserved to win; I think it was only about those little points in the tiebreaker."
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