Lionel messi
Messi and PSG stars jeered despite win over Bordeaux after European exit
Amid a gloomy atmosphere in the French capital, only Kylian Mbappe, who scored both goals in the last-16 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, escaped the...
The 33-year-old Lewandowski, who set a Bundesliga goal record last season, won the trophy for the second time, edging Argentine Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain and Egyptian Mohamed Salah of Liverpool.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was one of four PSG players to test positive for the virus ahead of a French Cup match against Vannes.
The Argentinian great has made a slow start to life in France after a turbulent year which saw him bid a tearful farewell to Barcelona and join Paris Saint-Germain.
Now 34, Messi pipped much-fancied rivals like Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema to take the award in a glittering ceremony on Monday in Paris, the city he now calls home after leaving boyhood club Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in August.
The match also featured the long-awaited PSG debut of Spanish defender Sergio Ramos, while Neymar left the pitch sobbing in agony, stretchered off with an ankle injury.
Messi missed PSG's last two games before the international break with a combination of knee and thigh issues and has yet to score in Ligue 1, where he has been limited to just five appearances.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner missed the last two matches with his club Paris Saint-Germain due to knee and hamstring issues.
The Argentina star smacked the crossbar with a free-kick in the first half at Roazhon Park before Gaetan Laborde volleyed Rennes ahead just before the break with his league-leading sixth goal.
Messi's majestic strike sealed a 2-0 win over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City that sent out a statement to the rest of Europe, PSG confirming that they are leading contenders to go all the way in the Champions League.
Last year's event was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Argentinians are away to Paraguay on October 7 before hosting Uruguay three days later and wrapping up against Peru on October 14, also in Buenos Aires.
Lionel Messi has missed PSG's last two games with a minor knee problem. He has not yet scored for his new club and has only made three appearances since arriving from Barcelona at the start of August, completing 90 minutes just once.
Real Madrid, the record 13-time European champions, left it late to beat Inter Milan at the San Siro in a section topped by Moldovan debutants Sheriff Tiraspol after the first round of group stage matches.
The 34-year-old had been expected to make his full debut for the Qatar-owned club last weekend but in the end he was rested against Clermont after returning from international duty with Argentina.
Messi pounced for his 77th, 78th and 79th international goals to keep Argentina firmly on course for a place at next year's finals in Qatar against a Bolivia team languishing near the foot of the table.
Lionel Messi was named in the Paris Saint-Germain squad for the first time on Sunday morning.
The Italian and English top flight leagues are also upset about Fifa's decision to not extend exceptions for call-ups to countries where quarantine upon re-entry is mandatory.
Club president Nasser al-Khelaifi introduced Messi on a live-streamed broadcast, which was also shown on a giant screen outside the ground, offering shop staff a chance to restock.