Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time on Monday, extending his record, as Alexia Putellas became the third winner of the women’s award.
“I’m very happy to be here, happy to keep fighting for new trophies,” Messi said through a translator. “I don’t know how many years I have left, but I hope many more. I’d like to thank all my (former) teammates at Barcelona and Argentina.”
Messi finished with 613 points to top Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski on 580.
Messi counts two more Ballon d’Or awards than longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sixth in the voting.
It came after a stunning final season with Barcelona and his first major international trophy win with Argentina in July.
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