Messi wins the Ballon d’Or 2019

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award giving him recognition as the World’s best player for a record breaking sixth time

The 32 year old Argentinian striker received the highly prestigious award tonight in Paris at the 64th edition of the Ballon d’Or awards.

The award saw Messi surpass Juventus forward Christiano Ronaldo for the most Ballon d’Or titles. Ronaldo, who last received the award in 2017, was voted third. Ronaldo and Messi currently hold the joint record for the most nominations for the award, a staggering 11 nominations each.

Liverpool talisman Virgil Van Dijk finished second in the voting. Many believed his contribution to Liverpool’s successful Champions League campaign deserving greater recognition. Fellow Liverpool team mates Sadio Mane (4th) and Mohamed Salah (5th) were placed respectively behind Ronaldo.

Barcelona win La Liga second year running 

Messi scored a sensational 54 times for club and country in the 2018-19 season, which helped Barcelona to retain the title for the second year running in La Liga. Barcelona’s recent 3-1 win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League marked Messi’s 700th appearance for the Catalan side. Over this duration of time he has managed a phenomenal 614 goals as well as boasting 10 La Liga, 6 Copa Del Rey and 4 Champions League titles.

The Full Ballon d’Or List 2019

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)

2. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool and Netherlands)

3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus and Portugal)

4. Sadio Mane (Liverpool and Senegal)

5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)

6. Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain and France)

7. Alisson (Liverpool and Brazil)

8. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich and Poland)

9. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City and Portugal)

10. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City and Algeria)

11. Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona and Netherlands)

12. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City and England)

13. Eden Hazard (Real Madrid and Belgium)

14. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City and Belgium)

15. Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus and Netherlands)

16. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City and Argentina)

17. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool and Brazil)

18. Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona and France)

19. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool and England)

20. Dusan Tadic (Ajax and Serbia) (Joint)

20. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal and Gabon) (Joint)

22. Son Heung-min (Tottenham and South Korea)

23. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham and France)

24.  Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli and Senegal) (Joint)

24. Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona and Germany) (Joint)

28. Donny van de Beek (Ajax and Netherlands) (Joint)

28. Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal) (Joint)

28. Marquinhos (Paris St-Germain and Brazil) (Joint)