Ballon d’Or 2019 saw Lionel Messi go home with the award. The Argentine beat Ronaldo and Van Dijk to win the prestigious prize.
Despite failing to win the Champions League last season, the Argentine forward managed to pool more votes ahead of the other major contenders.
The Barca captain finished top of the chart with 648 votes – seven points better than the Dutchman while Ronaldo came third.
Daily Mail quoting CNN, however, reports that Messi’s mother claimed her son was not expecting to be named the winner.
She said they (herself and her son) thought Van Dijk was going to win the title following his impressive contribution to the Reds triumph in Europe.
Messi’s mother said:
“I am very happy. We were not expecting this.
“We thought the fifth had been the last. Honestly, this was a beautiful surprise. He (Messi) did not expect it either. “I do not know if he found out minutes before, I do not know, but we did not know anything.”
Messi scored 51 goals for Barcelona across competitions last campaign – winning the La Liga title, while Van Dijk clinch Champions League title.
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