Surely not something Lionel Messi would have wanted his time at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to be. From being subbed to injury, the player has seen it all.
However, between all this, Messi found his name begin trending after a leaked picture doing the rounds on social media stating the possible winner of the coveted individual prize.
France Football Magazine, unveiled the 30-name list for the Ballon D'or award earlier this month and now pictures went viral, which happens to be a printed document and possibly a mobile snap showing the likely winner of the 2021 edition.
While some images show PSG and Argentine superstar, Lionel Messi winning the Ballon'Dor for a record 7th time, followed by Poland and Bayern Munich striker, Robert Lewandowski finishing on the second spot and losing by only 14 votes.
However, some pictures show that football fans could witness a new Ballon d'Or winner with Lewandowski set to take the trophy home this year. If Lewandowski wins the golden ball this year, he will become the only second player after Real Madrid’s Croatian midfielder Luka Modric to win the title in the last decade.
As for Messi, he was the last winner of the award in 2019 and was actually tipped by experts to be the obvious winner. His all-round performance had helped Argentina clinch their 15th Copa America title and first international crown in 28 years.
As far as the award ceremony is concerned, the prestigious award was not handed out in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The winner will be announced on November 29 in Paris.
