Ballon d’Or 2021: How to watch, date, time, favorites, finalists and odds

One of world football’s most prestigious individual awards will be presented on Monday when the 2021 men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) winners are announced.

The awards will return after a one-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. An official ceremony will be held in Paris and broadcast to a global audience. The best young male player (Kopa Trophy) and the best male goalkeeper (Yashin Trophy) will also be recognized.

Lionel Messi could win a record seventh Men’s Ballon d’Or, although Bayern Munich and Poland forward Robert Lewandowski is widely considered worthy, especially after missing out last year when the Ballon d’Or was scratched. scratch.

Messi was the last player to win the award, honored in 2019, and he and arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo shared 11 of the last 12 Ballon d’Or trophies. Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric is the only one to have broken their monopoly, winning in 2018, but he is not among the 30 players who reached the final in 2021. The Ballon d’Or goes to The first male was awarded in 1956.

There are 20 nominations for the Women’s Ballon d’Or. Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas and Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema are among the leaders. The eventual winner – Megan Rapinoe in 2019 – was not a finalist, but there were three Canadian Olympic gold medalists and one American, Samantha Mewis, who was unlikely to win due to stiff competition.

How to watch the Golden Ball 2021

• Day: Monday, November 29
• Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
• Channel: Not available
• Streaming online: Paramount +, L’Equipe

The winners of the Ballon d’Or 2021 will be announced at a gala in Paris on Monday, November 29. The event will be streamed live on Paramount+ in the United States. French sports daily L’Equipe will also report broadcast live on its channels.

The ceremony at the Théâtre du Chatelet will announce the winners of the Men’s and Women’s Ballon d’Or, the Kopa Trophy (best under-21 player) and the Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper).

There are six editions (2010 to 015), of which the Ballon d’Or, run by the French weekly France Football, is known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or after it merged with the FIFA Best Player award. FIFA breaks through and begins FIFA Best Football Award starting in 2016 (awarded January 2017).

Who will win the Ballon d’Or?

According to the US sportsbooks DraftKings and Pointsbest and Canadian Sports Interaction, this is essentially a two-horse race. Lionel Messi was a favorite at DraftKings and Sports Interaction, while Robert lewandowski is a mild favorite at Pointsbet.

With no famous candidates this year, there was a lot of talk in the media over the summer about the Chelsea and Italy midfielder. Jorginho is likely to emerge as a surprise winner following his role in Italy’s victory at Euro 2021. Then there’s Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah attracted media attention with his sizzling start to the 2021-22 Premier League season as soon as voters submitted their rankings in October.

But there seems to be consensus that Messi’s first title with the Argentina national team at the 2021 Copa America will favor the vote in his favor, even ahead of Lewandowski, who has already set a Bundesliga goalscoring record in a single season. and is currently at the top of the table. List of UEFA Champions League Top Scorers. Lewandowski has more goals than Messi in 2021 (64-41) and more club titles (3-1). He may get a nod from voters because he was the favorite last year before the 2020 awards were cancelled.

CBS’s team of football analysts, including Thierry Henry, who finished second in the 2013 Ballon d’Or race, believe Messi will win, even though they prefer to look at other people. Henry and Alex Scott were split for the women’s prize.

The odds are available for the men’s tournament and are updated below as of Sunday, November 28.

How does Ballon d’Or voting work?

Voting for the Men’s Ballon d’Or and the Yashin Cup ended on October 24. A panel of 180 journalists from around the world was asked to vote (via a secure email system) based on the following criteria. Highlights include individual and team performance in 2021, player talent and sportsmanship, and the player’s overall career.

About 40 to 50 female football journalists vote for the Women’s Ballon d’Or, while 32 men’s Ballon d’Or winners choose the best U21 male player (Kopa Trophy).

Each person votes for the Ballon d’Or (male and female) for the top five; those who voted for Kopa Trophy and Yashin Trophy submitted the top three. In each case, points are assigned to each position, and the player with the most points wins a reward.

Voting results will be published in the weekly edition of France Football on December 4.

Based on Editor-in-Chief of France Football, the editorial board of the weekly publishes a list of the finalists before distributing it to voters.

Who are the finalists of the Golden Ball?

Here is the complete list of nominees for four different awards. There are 30 names for the male award, 20 names for the female Golden Ball and 10 names for the Kopa and Yashin awards.

Golden Ball 2021 – Men

Golden Ball 2021 – Women

2021 Kopa Trophy reaches the final round

Yashin Trophy Finalist Teams 2021