At 34 years old, Messi continues to shine with his enormous talent. Obviously, there are as many bad moments as good ones. This year has reflected both affliction and jubilation for the 'Flea'.
In the first months of 2021, for example, the Argentine star had to deal with Barcelona's terrible form. Things were not going well at all. Despite this, Messi always carried his team and, through goals and good individual performances, managed to somewhat mask Barcelona's crisis.
But this wouldn't last long. The ruin of the club was fully exposed when the 'Flea' definitively left in August of this year. Currently, Barcelona is far from the fight for LaLiga and has not secured its place in the Champions League round of 16. Meanwhile, Messi remains calm at PSG.
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The Parisian club, filled with stars in its squad, is more dominant than ever in Ligue 1. Additionally, they have already qualified for the next round of the Champions League, so now they are focused on winning the 'Orejona' alongside the best current footballer.
Various questions arose along the way regarding Lionel Messi's favoritism to win the Ballon d'Or. In a subjective and statistical terrain, many believe that the Argentine did not deserve the award above Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, and other stars. But in the end, the Argentine star did it again.
Beyond the incessant criticism, one cannot deny the enormous merits that the 'Flea' achieved this year to be awarded the individual accolade. In both bad and good moments, he managed to stand out in the best possible way with his teams. For many, it was well deserved - and for others, not - that Lionel won the Ballon d'Or is no coincidence.