Messi is concerned of the Ballon d'Or 2021: which players could win the award?

The Ballon d'Or is one of the most important individual awards in soccer. The prestigious individual award will be presented in December. There is a long way to go until the end of the year and the performance of the players in the second half of the year will be key. Traditionally the award has been based on the previous season, the Champions League and major international tournaments.

So with the 2020-21 campaign now over, as well as the Copa America and Euro 2020, it's a good opportunity to take stock of the favorites. Here are six of the most prominent candidates you might want to back with a sports interaction code.

Ballon d'Or candidates

Lionel Messi

Messi is the bookmakers' favorite to retain the award. He already holds the record of six, and will lead Argentina to the Copa America, a trophy that team has not won since 1993. After his arrival in Paris Messi is still the favorite but there are several players who could take the award away from him.

Kante

Man of the match in both legs of the semi-final against Real Madrid, and in the final against Manchester City, Chelsea’s Champions League triumph was in a large part thanks to Kante. Many expected him to follow that up by winning Euro 2020 with firm favourites France, but it didn’t quite work out that way with a shock round of 16 elimination to Switzerland. Still, that certainly shouldn’t rule him out of the running.

Robert Lewandowski

Like Martin Scorsese finally winning an Oscar for The Departed, Lewandowski can feel he’s overdue one after being robbed of a rightful one when France Football cancelled the 2020 award, following a season in which he’d scored 55 goals in 47 appearances as Bayern Munich won the treble.

Still, The Departed was pretty damn good, as was Lewandowski’s 2020-21 campaign; he won the European Golden Shoe and broke Gerd Muller’s 49-year record in the Bundesliga, scoring 41 goals in just 29 appearances in the competition.

Jorginho

One of only 11 players in history to win the European Championship and European Cup in the same year, Jorginho was a firm favourite of both Thomas Tuchel and Roberto Mancini.

He played an influential role in the midfield engine room in an unforgettable year for his club and country, much more so than his Chelsea and Italy team-mate Emerson.

Jorginho ended up having the tournament many expected of his Blues midfield partner Kante; he ended up lifting the trophy, and no one covered more distance at Euro 2020.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy's goalkeeper, became the star of the Eurocup final when he shone in the penalty shootout against England. He was the key to the title, saving shots by Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, winning the title with the latter. The goalkeeper was transferred to PSG and is one of the Ballon d'Or contenders despite his status as a goalkeeper.