In a very unusual turn of events, France Football have elected to take down their Ballon d’Or poll because the results were seemingly not what they wanted them to be.
The publication, who are presenting the 2018 award yet again, announced the 30-man shortlist a couple of days ago and then put out a poll on their website to allow fans to cast their votes on who they think deserves the award.
All the nominees were options on the poll but Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi dominated proceedings. Salah, after his 44-goal season for Liverpool, ended up with 31 per cent of the votes, while Messi was by far the clear winner – garnering 48 per cent of the 704,396 votes.
Cristiano Ronaldo only accrued eight per cent of the voting, while FIFA Best Men’s Player Luka Modric and PSG duo Kylian Mbappe all had a mere two per cent.
But then weirdly, the poll was pulled suddenly and now has angered plenty of fans due to the link now leading readers onto an article about Messi’s tax issues.
It’s worth noting that public vote plays no part in the Ballon d’Or voting, as it is voted for by a slew of international journalists – with one from each country having the ability to have their say. The winner will be announced on December 3.
sportbible.com
