Barcelona star, Lionel Messi, set a record when he won the title of world’s best player or Ballon d’Or 2019. The Ballon d’Or awarding night was held at the Theater du Chatelet, Paris, France, Monday (2/12/2019).
This award makes Messi now a player with the most Ballon d’Or titles. Messi with a collection of six titles ahead of Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five Ballon d’Or.
Messi’s sixth trophy was handed over directly by last year’s winner, Luka Modric (Real Madrid). “Thank you to the captains and coaches of the national team and journalists who voted for me,” Messi said in his remarks. “I cannot explain this moment in words. I still remember ten years ago I won the first Ballon d’Or. Now I have won again,” Messi added.
Following these achievements, now Barcelona has won 12 Ballon d’Or from its players. Barca have more Gold Ball trophy collections than any club, including Real Madrid (11).
Besides Ballon d’Or title, Messi also won the world’s best player of the FIFA version this year. At the Ballon d’Or this year, Messi defeated Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk in second. The third place was Cristiano Ronaldo who appeared to be absent from the event.
In the 2018/2019 season, Messi helped Barcelona win the Spanish League and Copa del Rey titles. Messi scored 51 goals in all competitions last season. That number makes Messi get three top score titles at once.
The three titles are the top scores of the Spanish League, Champions League, and the European golden boot as the top scorer in European leagues. This year’s title also ended Lionel Messi’s three-year vacuum of winning the Ballon d’Or.
Here’s the complete list of winners in the 2019 Ballon d’Or awarding ceremony:
Kopa Thropy (best young player): Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus)
Ballon d’Or Feminine (best female player): Megan Rapionoe
Yashine Throphy (best goalkeeper): Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
Ballon d’Or (best player): Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Here are the top 10 Ballon d’Or 2019:
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
4. Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
6. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
7. Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
8. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
9. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
10. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
