History for Ligue 1!
If he is slow to shine with his performances on the French lawns, Lionel Messi offered the French championship his second Golden Ball.
The scene will be historic. Wednesday, two days after the announcement of his coronation on the stage of the Châtelet theater, the 2021 Golden Ball will indeed be presented to the public at the Parc des Princes. While he had tirelessly shuttled between Barcelona and Madrid for twelve years, according to the coronations of Lionel messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and even Luka Modric, the coveted trophy this time remained in France.
Jean-Pierre Papin is therefore no longer alone. Since 1956 and the creation of the Golden Ball, JPP had indeed been the only player to win the precious distinction while playing in France. The star striker of Olympique de Marseille, crowned champion of France and finalist of theOlympic Marseille, had been distinguished in 1991, with the nose and the beard of Dejan Savicevic and Darko Pancev, his executioners of the final of Bari.
Weah had gone to Milan
Another player nevertheless won a Golden Ball thanks mainly to his performances with a Ligue 1 club. George Weah’s victory in 1995 owed much to his exploits with the PSG until his departure for AC Milan, where he also had a successful debut. But it is on the lawn of San Siro that the Liberian, the first African to win the Golden Ball, presented his trophy …
In total, they are nine players to be on the podium of the Ballon d’Or while playing in France. Besides Jean-Pierre Papin, George Weah and therefore Lionel Messi, Just Fontaine (3rd in 1958 with Reims), Raymond Kopa (2nd in 1959 with Reims), Michel Platini (3rd in 1977 with Nancy and 3rd in 1980 with Saint-Etienne) , Alain Giresse (2nd in 1982 with Bordeaux), Jean Tigana (2nd in 1984 with Bordeaux) and Neymar (3rd in 2017 with PSG) got an accessit.
Read also:The Ballon d’Or 2021 or “the election scandal”!Messi, a 7th Ballon d’Or that is debatingThe 2021 Ballon d’Or ranking
