On December 2, 2019 the Ballon d’Or awards for the year were announced in Paris, France. Argentina’s professional football player Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini won his record 6th Ballon d’Or award. The award was given after Messi scored 54 times for his Barcelona club and country in 2018-19, in which Barcelona won La Liga title. It is also to be noted that Messi has most no. of Ballon d’Or awards under his name. Prior to that, Messi and Portuguese football player Christiano Ronaldo equally had 5 Ballon d’Or awards under their name.
The Ballon d’Or (meaning”Golden Ball”) is an annual football award presented by France Football, which is a French weekly magazine.
Megan Rapinoe wins women’s Ballon d’Or:
The Women’s Ballon d’Or award was given to Megan Anna Rapinoe, American football player who led the United States women’s national soccer team to win the 2019 World cup.
Other awards:
- Alisson won inaugural Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper: Liverpool club and Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Ramses Becker won the inaugural edition of the Yashin Trophy 2019. The award was given for best goalkeeping for 2019.
- Matthijs de Ligt won Kopa Trophy 2019: Dutch football player Matthijs de Ligt won the Kopa Trophy for the year 2019. The award is given to the best under 21 player.
Key Points:
i.Previous Ballon d’or awards by Messi: Messi previously won the Ballon d’Or awards in the year 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.
Awards:
| S.No | Award | Awardee |
| 1 | Men’s Ballon d’Or award | Lionel Messi. |
| 2 | Women’s Ballon d’Or award | Megan Rapinoe. |
| 3 | Yashin Trophy | Alisson Becker |
| 4 | Kopa Trophy 2019 | Matthijs de Ligt. |
About Ballon d’Or:
First awarded year- 1956
Country- France.
Inaugural winner- Stanley Matthews.
