Lionel Messi wins record 6th Ballon d’Or ~ Truth Reporters

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award for the world’s best player for a record sixth time.

It is the 32-year-old Argentine’s first Ballon d’Or since 2015 and comes after he scored 54 times for club and country in 2018/19, in which Barca won La Liga.

Virgil van Dijk was second – one of four Liverpool players in the top seven, including Sadio Mane in fourth.

Juventus and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, was third in the voting.

England defender Lucy Bronze was beaten to the women’s award, finishing second behind Megan Rapinoe, who was Golden Ball winner as USA claimed a second successive World Cup in 2019.

Liverpool keeper Alisson won the inaugural Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper, ahead of Barcelona’s Germany international Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Brazilian compatriot Ederson of Manchester City.

Defender Matthijs de Ligt took the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best U-21 player and selected by former Ballon d’Or winners.

The 20-year-old, who joined Juventus this summer after helping Ajax reach the semi-finals of last season’s Champions League, beat Borussia Dortmund and England forward Jadon Sancho to the award.

Messi’s win means the Ballon d’Or award has been won by a player from Spain’s La Liga in each of the last 11 years, including last year’s winner Luka Modric, who broke the 10-year Messi-Ronaldo monopoly on the prize.

After taking home the award for the sixth time, Messi has now surpassed Ronaldo, who clinched the honour on five occasions while at Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Sadio Mane finished fourth and his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah was fifth, with the top 10 consisting of PSG’s Kylian Mbappe (sixth), Liverpool’s Alisson (seventh), Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski (eighth) and Manchester City duo Bernardo Silva (ninth) and Riyad Mahrez (tenth).

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