- Italian media reported Cristiano Ronaldo won Ballon d’Or 2019 two days back.
- Spanish media reported that Lionel Messi had been informed that he’d won Ballon d’Or 2019
- Virgil van Dijk is the other contender along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
- The 32-year-old guided Barca to another La Liga triumph last season, whereas Ronaldo won inaugural European Nations league in 2019
- Virgil van Dijk helped his team winning Champions League, and Liverpool came a close second in English Premier League last season.
Spanish and Italian media have claim and counter-claim for the last few days on the winner of Ballon d’Or 2019 during past few days. The ceremony for the coveted award is set to take place on December 2, but fans are bit amused by the developments.
Italian Media Claimed for Ronaldo
An article by Italian newspaper Corriere Dello Sport two days back suggested that Juventus’ ace Cristiano Ronaldo would-be winner of his sixth Ballon D’Or in 2019, beating Lionel Messi and Virgil Van Dijk to the award.
The report states that members of France Football’s board made their way to Turin to interview CR7, as part of the usual preparations for the gala. France Football’s emissaries have dinner with the Portuguese ace, with Juventus’ president Fabio Paratici being invited along.
Spanish Media Claimed for Messi
Mundo Deportivo recently claimed that the Argentine has already been told of his win of Ballon d’Or 2019, even though the awards ceremony is on Monday, December 2, and that a team from France Football magazine travelled to Barcelona to meet the 32-year-old.
Messi is on a three-man shortlist for this year’s gong alongside his perennial rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
Performances in last season
Messi won the 10th La Liga title of his career last term, scoring 36 goals and providing 13 assists for Ernesto Valverde’s side.
But Van Dijk, the UEFA men’s player of the year, has a strong case for pipping both, having helped Liverpool winning the Champions League and being rock solid as centre back in their English Premier League campaign last year.
Ronaldo’s goalscoring heroics have continued since his move to Juventus, with whom he won Serie A last season. He also won the Nations League with Portugal with some superlative performance and goals for the country.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe believes Messi deserves the award, whereas Jurgen Klopp strongly advocated for his centre back. ‘Messi. In individual terms, he was the best this year.’ said Mbappe when recently asked by German publication Der Spiegel who he thought would win the award.
Ceremony for Ballon d’Or
Only time will tell if this report has any truth to it when the winner of the coveted award will be announced on December 2, 2019. Best of luck to all…
