The organizers of the Ballon d’Or award, France Football, have been compelled to deny rumors that they had notified Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain that he is the winner of the 2021 honor.
As the event returns after a COVID-19 sabbatical, Messi is the clear favorite to win the prize this month.
However, others speculated that he already has a seventh individual award in his possession.
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However, officials in charge of the vote stress that no winner has been picked as of yet.
“There’s a lot of bullsh*t we’ve seen in the last 10 days,” France Football editor Pascal Ferre told Bild of the Messi rumors. “It’s a massive bluff.”
Messi will go up against Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, who won the FIFA Best Player title in 2020 and has 23 goals in 17 games this season.
Jorginho, an Italy and Chelsea midfielder, has had his claims to a much-coveted piece of silverware questioned after helping the Azzurri win Euro 2020 and Chelsea win the Champions League.