Lionel Messi was named the best player in the world for a record sixth time when he took home the Ballon d’Or at an awards ceremony here on Monday.
The Argentinian moved ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won the trophy five times and finished third in the men’s rankings this time behind Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
Megan Rapinoe, star of USA’s World Cup winning side, won the women’s award. The 34-year-old was unable to attend the ceremony but the winger recorded a message.
Final prize of the evening, the Kopa Trophy for the best young player in the men’s game, went to the former Ajax defender 20-year-old Matthijs de Ligt.
The Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) is an annual football award presented by France Football. It has been awarded since 1956, although between 2010 and 2015, an agreement was made with FIFA and the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year, and known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or. However, the partnership ended in 2016 and the award reverted to the Ballon d’Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award (now named The Best FIFA Men’s Player).
This post was published on December 4, 2019 4:46 pm