He’s had an important year in his career - Di Maria picks his Ballon d'Or winner

France Football will present the 2021 Ballon d'Or award on Monday. This year's top contenders for the renowned world football award include Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain and Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich. This year's Ballon d'Or race is expected to be extremely competitive and close, with various footballers and analysts favoring different individuals to win the award in 2021.

PSG playmaker Angel di Maria, as expected, believes his long-time Argentine teammate Messi will win his seventh Ballon d'Or trophy, as he stated to RMC Sport's "Rothen s'enflamme" program. Di Maria has played with Lionel Messi for both club and country and knows just how good the former Barcelona star is.

Di Maria said:

“Yes, I think so. He has had an important year in his career. To win the Copa America with his country after so many things that happened to him in the national team, he finally won it. Just for that he deserves it.”

Lionel Messi finally won a major international trophy with Argentina in 2021. Di Maria believes the feat should be enough to help Lionel Messi win the Ballon d’Or 2021 award.

Di Maria thinks Lionel Messi should win the Ballon d'Or 2021 award for his Copa America success

In the 2021 Copa America, Di Maria was excellent alongside Messi for Argentina's national squad. While Messi had a total of nine total goal contributions, Di Maria scored the lone goal of the 2021 Copa America Final against Brazil.

Messi's quest for an international trophy came to an end as he lifted the Copa America trophy alongside his Argentine international teammates.

Lionel Messi has also been influential in club play for both Barcelona and PSG. Last season, Messi was a pivotal character at Barcelona, which has grown even more apparent in light of the club's troubles since his departure.

Messi, on the other hand, is looking to reach the same heights at his new club Paris Saint-Germain. Another Ballon d’Or win for Lionel Messi would bolster his already glittering career resume as a footballer.

If Lionel Messi was to win the Ballon d’Or this year, it would be his seventh title and would take him past Cristiano Ronaldo's tally of six.