Lionel Messi will win the Ballon d’Or for 2019 and has already been alerted of the decision, reports Mundo Deportivo, translated by the Daily Mail.
The Spanish outlet says a team from France Football have already headed to Barcelona and told the 32-year-old Argentine of his victory ahead of Virgil van Dijk – despite the award not being officially handed out until December 2.
Dutch defender van Dijk was instrumental in Liverpool’s Champions League victory in 2019, including the semi-final victory over Messi’s Barca.
We have no qualms over the idea that Messi is the best footballer on the planet, but if that was the sole deciding factor in who wins the Ballon d’Or, he would have won it every year since 2006.
But it’s meant to be for the highest performing footballer of the calendar year and we’d argue van Dijk has been about as good as it’s physically possible for a centre-back to be.
Still, it’s team awards we really care about, although will be a little sad for van Dijk if this report regarding Messi’s win proves true.
We’re sure the Premier League title 2019/20 will soften the blow…
Here’s some of the Twitter reaction:
If the rumours about the award of the Ballon d’Or 2019 to Messi were confirmed, it’d be a scandal IMO. Salah and Van Dijk have performed a one-of-a-kind football year so far and definitely deserve the award more than the Barcelona player. C’mon, no excuses. #BallonDor2019
— Andrea Barilli (@BarilliAndrea) November 27, 2019
Absolute shambolic that van Dijk isn't winning the Ballon d'Or this year. What makes this even more obviously bias is that Messi lost to van Dijk in their biggest game of the season with a 3-0 lead.
— Filipe Orlando (@MrFilipeOrlando) November 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/okaleenuh/status/1199380310481408000
https://twitter.com/tijuanaKO_/status/1199317968313823234
https://twitter.com/Sumboiii/status/1199600363248201729