On January 7, local time, FIFA officially announced the shortlist of the best player of the year in 2021, and Messi, Levan and Salah were shortlisted for the final list.
Following the Ballon d'Or in 2021, Messi is likely to be named World Footballer of the Year again. Once awarded, Messi will take away this highest honor for the seventh time, breaking the record.
Levan will be Messi's biggest competitor. However, if you refer to the national team record, Salah and Levan may become the runners of the Argentine superstar.
On November 30 last year, Messi took over the Ballon d'Or trophy from his friend Suarez, the seventh time in his career that he won the Ballon d'Or, creating a new history.
And now, Messi will set a new world record: the seven-time World Footballer of the Year.
Previously, Messi took the Best Player award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019, and was the player with the most awards.
In 2021, Messi led Argentina to the Copa America for the first time and was also the best player in the tournament, so in terms of the national team's record, Messi has an advantage over Levan and Salah.
According to the rules, FIFA voted for the award comes from the head coach of various national teams, captains, fans around the world and more than 200 media reporters around the world, for Messi, who has a large number of fans, he will have a natural advantage, and the probability of being elected World Footballer of the Year has increased greatly.
It has been 30 years since the inaugural awards were presented in 1991.
During this period, 16 of the world's top stars have won this highest honor, and superstars such as Baggio, Romario, Van Basten, Da Luo, Little Luo, Zidane and other superstars have won this award, and the Merrow duo ruled the award for 10 years, until it was broken by Modric in 2018.
This year, Ronaldo basically withdrew from the ranks of competition with Messi and failed to enter the final third-class candidate list.
It is worth mentioning that Messi is currently in good health after contracting the new crown during the Christmas period. He has returned to Paris after the test turned negative and is expected to return to the club for training next week.