Lionel Messi is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or after his Copa América triumph

The Euros and Copa América are over. The European championship did not go well for the French. Kylian Mbappé and N’Golo Kanté certainly didn’t do any better in the race for the Ballon d’Or. With Italy’s win, Jorginho is now in the game. But after Argentina’s triumph at the Copa América, Lionel Messi is the new favourite, at least according to the bookmakers.

The Argentine would take the award for the seventh time and thus consolidate the record. He also won the Ballon d’Or the last time, in 2019, because last year the award was not presented due to a global pandemic. Robert Lewandowski was the favourite then.

The Pole is still in the game this year. After all, he broke Gerd Muller’s record from the 1971/72 season when he scored 41 goals. He won the league with Bayern, but didn’t go far with Poland at the Euros, scoring 3 times. It might help that he probably would have won last year.

Messi was the king of goal scorers in Spain for a change. In all competitions, he has opened the net on 33 occasions, adding 13 assists. The South American championship was a particular success for him. At the Copa América, he contributed to nine of Argentina’s 12 goals – scoring four times himself. He also won the Copa del Rey this year.

But according to British bookmaker Betfair, Messi’s immediate pursuer is Harry Kane, not Lewandowski. Kane has managed to score an impressive 23 goals and added 14 assists in the Premier League.

After Italy’s win, Betfair says 3 Italians are also in the game – Ciro Immobile at odds of 14 and Lorenzo Insigne (16). Jorginho, who won the Euros and Champions League this year, is then at odds of 20.

The Ballon d’Or isn’t handed out until December, however there is a deadline for the top 30 players in October.

Full odds::

Lionel Messi – 2/1

Harry Kane – 4.5/1

Kylian Mbappe – 6/1

Robert Lewandowski – 6/1

Cristiano Ronaldo – 8/1

N’Golo Kante – 8/1

Neymar – 9/1

Raheem Sterling – 10/1

Ciro Immobile – 14/1

Kevin De Bruyne – 16/1

Lorenzo Insigne – 16/1

Jorginho – 20/1

Source: Betfair, Goal.com, The Sun