Lionel Messi had an extraordinary year in which he won FIFA’s ‘The Best’ award of Best FIFA Men’s Player, now the Argentine have won the French Football’s annual prize ‘The Ballon d’Or’ for the sixth time. After achieving such a feat he has become the only person in the world who has won 6 Ballon d’Or titles.
Messi was awarded with the trophy in the ceremony that took place at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris. Messi had won this trophy in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015.
Last year, 2018, Luka Modric, Croatia, won this prestigious trophy breaking the decade long duopoly of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who dominated the Football World by winning Ballon d’Or five times each.
Now, Messi has regained his number one position as he now have won 6 Ballon d’Or, one more than his rival Ronaldo. Additionally, Messi is two years younger than Ronaldo.
Apart from FIFA’s The Best award, and the Golden Ball (Ballon d’Or) Messi has won some other awards this year like European Golden Show, Pichichi Trophy, and UEFA Club Forward of the Year
Virgil van Dijk, Netherlands, came in second place, who was anyway said will be the person who has a chances of winning the Ballon d’Or if not Messi and Ronaldo. Additionally, one week before the award ceremony, the Spanish reports said Virgil’s chances of winning the awards are grim.
According to a Spanish newspaper, Mundo Deportivo, Lionel Messi, Barca player, had already been named the winner.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the most notable absentee from the Ballon d’Or award ceremony as he decides to attend the Gala del Calcio to claim Seria A’s Best Player award. We assume that he knew he was not getting his hands on the trophy.
One should not forget that Ballon d’Or is the award based on the individual performance throughout the year and not for a particular competition, where Van Dijk has shown what a world class defender (CB) he is in the Champions League, Messi is in a class apart, he is a nightmare for defenders, and this year, Messi has been playing football like he does not belong to this planet when we talk about statistics.
Lionel Messi has outscored every football player in the top 5 leagues of Europe in the last season, and also he’s in the list of top players with most assists. Though Messi has not been able to steer Argentina National Team to win any competition this year, his other stats were more than enough for voters.
People started tweeting as Lionel Messi won his 6th Ballon d’Or on Monday
I’m gonna tell my kids this guy is a football God #Messi #BallonDor2019 pic.twitter.com/6mQybXePd7
— Gestapo Ces? (@CesEstrella) December 3, 2019
Fans of Cristiano Ronaldo even shared some stats implying Ronaldo’s year was better
In case you missed Messi n Ronaldo individual stats last season. #BallonDor2019 pic.twitter.com/YFjAKaju9j
— Dimas IP (@dimasip) December 3, 2019
Luka Modric shared on his Twitter as well
Sports and football are not just about winning, they’re also about respect for your teammates and rivals. ? #BallonDOr pic.twitter.com/0AvmMdrya1
— Luka Modrić (@lukamodric10) December 2, 2019
Gary Lineker said ‘He’s head and shoulders the best player in world football’.
Messi wins his 6th Ballon d’Or. His numbers this year are once again truly extraordinary. He’s head and shoulders the best player in world football. He plays a game that is both joyous and incomprehensible to mere mortals. The award is totally meritorious. ????
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 2, 2019
No matter what people say and fans of Ronaldo and Messi debate on who is the better one, there is one thing nobody can deny, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and GOATs of the football world.
GOAT: Greatest Of All Time