Lionel Messi Robert Lewandowski Ballon d'Or GFXGetty/GOAL

Ballon d'Or 2021 Power Rankings: How Messi beat Lewandowski in the closest race for years

After being cancelled in 2020, the Ballon d'Or returned with a bang in 2021 as the great and good of the football world again eyed the biggest individual honour the game has to offer.

In the end, it was Lionel Messi who walked away with his seventh Golden Ball, beating Robert Lewandowski into second place when the results were announced by France Football in Paris on November 29.

GOAL has been ranking the contenders for the prize since March, and now the official standings have been confirmed, check out how many we got right (and wrong!)...

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