The Ballon d'Or award is an annual football award for the best international player from the previous year. There was no 2020 Ballon d'Or Award, as the season was too disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Below are the 30 nominees in the final order after voting for the 2021 award. The award is voted by a panel of selected journalists from the top football playing countries. A gala ceremony announcing the winners was held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on November 29.

The winner was Argentina's Lionel Messi, following a superb second half of the 2020/21 season at Barcelona. As predicted, he has now won the award for a record seventh time. See the list of all Ballon d'Or winners.

In 2021, it was the first time two more awards given, the Best Club and Best Striker of the Year.

Final order for the men's 2021 Ballon d'Or

Order Player Club Nationality Points
1 Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain Argentina 613
2 Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich Poland 580
3 Jorginho Chelsea Italy 460
4 Karim Benzema Real Madrid France 239
5 N'Golo Kanté Chelsea France 186
6 Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus, Manchester United Portugal 178
7 Mohamed Salah Liverpool Egypt 121
8 Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City Belgium 73
9 Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain France 58
10 Gianluigi Donnarumma Milan, Paris Saint-Germain Italy 36
11 Erling Haaland Borussia Dortmund Norway 33
=12 Romelu Lukaku Inter Milan, Chelsea Belgium 26
=12 Giorgio Chiellini Juventus Italy 26
14 Leonardo Bonucci Juventus Italy 18
15 Raheem Sterling Manchester City England 10
16 Neymar Paris Saint-Germain Brazil 9
=17 Luis Suárez Atlético Madrid Uruguay 8
=17 Simon Kjær Milan Denmark 8
=19 Mason Mount Chelsea England 7
=19 Riyad Mahrez Manchester City Algeria 7
=21 Bruno Fernandes Manchester United Portugal 6
=21 Lautaro Martínez Inter Milan Argentina 6
23 Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur England 4
24 Pedri Barcelona Spain 3
25 Phil Foden Manchester City England 2
=26 Gerard Moreno Villarreal Spain 1
=26 Nicolò Barella Inter Milan Italy 1
=26 Rúben Dias Manchester City Portugal 1
=29 Luka Modrić Real Madrid Croatia 0
=29 Cesar Azpilicueta Chelsea Spain 0