Messi’s close win

It was Lionel Messi again. The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward, 34, was honored the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time on Nov 29. It is awarded annually by France Football magazine.
莱昂内尔·梅西再度获奖。11月29日，这位效力于巴黎圣日耳曼俱乐部的34岁前锋第7次荣获金球奖。该奖项每年由《法国足球》杂志颁发。

Messi beat 29 other nominees, including Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski. Lewandowski was the favorite for the prize in 2020, but it was canceled due to COVID-19.
梅西击败了其他29位候选人，包括拜仁慕尼黑俱乐部的前锋罗伯特·莱万多夫斯基。莱万多夫斯基曾是2020年金球奖热门人选，但2020年金球奖因受新冠疫情影响取消。

Some people have cast doubts on Messi’s award when comparing his performance to Lewandowski at club level. According to AFP, Messi scored 38 goals in 48 games in his final season with Barcelona and also helped the club win the Copa del Rey before moving to PSG in August. He scored his first goal for PSG in his sixth appearance. By comparison, Lewandowski ended last season with remarkable 41 Bundesliga goals.
一些人将梅西和莱万多夫斯基为俱乐部效力的表现相比较，质疑梅西的获奖。据法新社报道，梅西在为巴塞罗那队效力的最后一个赛季里，于48场比赛中攻入了38个进球，并在8月转投巴黎圣日耳曼队前帮助俱乐部赢得了西班牙国王杯。而在为巴黎圣日耳曼出场的第六次（法甲联赛）比赛中，梅西终于打入个人在联赛中的首个进球。与之相比，莱万多夫斯基上赛季在德甲共攻入41球，表现抢眼。

But this year, Messi helped his country Argentina win their first Copa America title since 1993.
但今年，梅西率阿根廷国家队赢得了自1993年以来的第一个美洲杯冠军。

This historic victory might have been the determining factor helping Messi get the honor, CBS Sports reported.
据哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）体育频道报道，这场历史性的胜利可能是帮助梅西获得金球奖的决定性因素。

“I don’t know if it’s the best year of my life. I’ve had a long career, but it was a special one with the title with Argentina after tough times.”
“我不知道今年是不是我一生中最美好的一年。我有着很长的职业生涯，但美洲杯夺冠是特别的，历经艰难岁月后，我代表阿根廷赢得了冠军。”

It is natural to feel sympathy for Lewandowski, but for Messi, “to achieve that level of sustained success at any time would be spectacular,” The Guardian noted.
《卫报》指出，人们对莱万多夫斯基感到同情很自然，但对梅西来说，“在任何时候都能持续获得成功，令人惊叹。”

“The Messi of a decade ago may well have been superior to the Messi of today. [But] in 2021, there has been no man better,” Sky Sports commented.
天空体育台（Sky Sports）评论道：“十年前的梅西可能比今天的梅西好得多。但在2021年，没有人比如今的梅西更好。”

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一852期