Lionel Messi has revealed why he voted for Sadio Mane to win the Ballon d’Or at the FIFA Best Awards on Monday.
Messi won his sixth Ballon d’Or at the event but you aren’t allowed to vote for yourself at the prestigious event.
The Argentine has revealed that he voted for Liverpool’s Sadio Mane to win the illustrious award.
The 32-year-old explained to Canal Sport:
“There was a lot of great players this year, but I chose (Sadio) Mané because he is a player I really enjoy watching, he had a great year with Liverpool.”
He also said that it was ‘a shame’ to see the Senegalese forward finish in fourth place.
But the Barca captain said there have been lots of stand out players in 2019.
“I think there have been a lot of great players this year. That’s why it was difficult to choose a particular player.”
Mane came behind Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo who finished second and third respectively.
Many have argued that the 27-year-old could have come above Cristiano Ronaldo considering their club form this year.
Mane helped Liverpool win the Champions League and was joint top scorer in the Premier League last season.
Ronaldo on the other hand finished 5 goals behind last season’s Capocannoniere winner Fabio Quagliarella.
The Portuguese forward didn’t attend Monday’s ceremony but he still managed to be a big talking point after comments made by his sister.
Van Dijk joked about the Juve front man not being a rival for the evening’s award.
Katia Aveiro slammed the Dutchman in a long Instagram post criticising him for not winning the Premier League.
She also slid in the fact that Ronaldo captained Portugal to Nations League victory over the summer, when they defeated van Dijk’s Netherlands.
But it’s Messi who stands atop the footballing world again.
This Ballon d’Or victory is his first since 2015 and he’s now ahead of Ronaldo again in the all time wins category.
SportBible.com
SportBible.com
