Lionel Messi conquest his 6th Golden Ball

The argentine star win his 6th crown in París

«It’s a genius. Messi’s hot-ball hat-trick gives Barcelona a triumph at the top of the league standings, «Mundo Deportivo wrote in a statement to the «magician» Lionel Messi.

And rightly so! Lionel Messi for the 6th time in his great career won the 6th «Golden Ball» from the prestigious and reputable sports magazine France Football I represent in Greece.

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⚽️ 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 #ballondor

A post shared by Ballon d’Or (@francefootball) on Dec 2, 2019 at 1:23pm PST

The Argentine footballer may not have had his best performance in 2019, but journalists from around the world, particularly from Africa and Latin America, have preferred to vote for him.

 They did not take as seriously as the Europeans the criteria set by France Football, ​​but that now matters little.

So Messi, having just a 7-point lead over Van Dijke, who should not miss our attention, helped the Lakers (along with Mane, Alisson Becker and the other kids) to make Liverpool win the UEFA Champions League, the Super League. Europe and possibly the Club World Cup starting in a few days in Qatar.

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It was a great privilege to attend the 2019 Ballon d’Or last night ? I was humbled by the warm reception that I received in Paris and I’d like to say thank you to everyone who made us feel so welcome. Firstly I’d like to congratulate @leomessi on winning your historic sixth Ballon d’Or ? As I also said last night at the ceremony, it’s important to sit back and admire greatness when it’s in front of you. Congratulations on another incredible year. On a personal level it was an honour to be nominated and I am extremely proud to have come second and in the same company as two of the greatest players to ever play the game in @leomessi and @cristiano We’ve enjoyed some good battles this year and I hope there will be many more to come. I am proud of my journey and I hope that my route in the game can help inspire others to always believe in yourself and to never give up on your dreams. I am hungry for more success on the pitch and will be working as hard as I can to keep improving and to continue to strive to be the best that I can be. It’s been an incredible 2019 so far but none of this would be possible without the love and support of my family, thank you for always being there. I must also say a huge thank you again to all of my teammates at Liverpool and the national team. Finally thank you to everyone in the football world for all of your messages of support, it means a lot to me and my family ❤

A post shared by Virgil van Dijk (@virgilvandijk) on Dec 3, 2019 at 9:28am PST

Successes that the Dutch central defender can hardly replicate. As in the past, Xavi with Iniesta. Casillas. Ribery or Manuel Neuer. Players who in my personal opinion have been wronged …

In any case, 32-year-old Lionel Messi, who scored 36 goals in the season and was a top scorer in all European championships, received the «Golden Shoe»  another important trophy.

Of course, no one can ignore that Messi is by far the world’s top footballer in the last 20 years, but that’s another matter …

The Argentine superstar now has 686 points against Van Dyk’s 679.

The Dutch prevailed in Europe (231 vs. 194 Messi) and Asia (155 vs. 134 Messi). Argentina, on the other hand, dominated Africa (187 vs. 154 by Van Dijk), South America (47 vs. 39 by Van Dijk), North, Central America and the Caribbean (102 vs. 86 by Van Dijk), and Oceania (22 vs. 14  Van Dijk).

Alisson, De Ligt and Rapino

The other prizes went to Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker the Yachine prize. The Dutchman, Matthijs De Ligt  the Kopa Trophy and the American, Megan Rapino the Women’s Golden Ball.

Recall that the institution of the «Ballon D’Or » of the oldest and most prestigious prize in the world individually, was started in 1956 with the first winner being Englishman, far-right striker, Sir Stanley Matthews …

Manos Staramopoulos

Chief Editor English section 

Journalist- Analyst of International Football and Affairs

Member of Football committee AIPS and IFHHS