Lionel Messi wins 6th Ballon D’Or #2019

Barcelona star Lionel Messi awarded record sixth Ballon d’Or in Paris on Monday.

Messi’s win marks his first Ballon d’Or node since 2015, and moves him past Cristiano Ronaldo for most all time. He won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Liverpool’s dominant center-back Virgil van Dijk is second, but Ronaldo is just ahead of Sadio Mane.

“I’m very lucky. I’m blessed. I hope I will continue to do so for a long time,” Messi told reporters. “I realize that I’m lucky even if one day it will be time to retire.

“It will be tough, but I still have a few years ahead of me. Time flies, so I enjoy football and my family.”

France Football has handed the Ballon d’Or annually since 1956, marking the best player of the year in both club and international football as determined by a vote of football journalists.

Messi had a stellar calendar year, guiding Barcelona to the Spanish title and winning the sixth European Golden Shoe and La Liga Player of the Year for the eighth time in 11 years.

The 32-year-old Argentine finished fifth in last year’s vote, with Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luca Modric ending Messi and Ronaldo’s 10-year co-dominance of football’s most coveted individual title.

European champion Liverpool dominated the remaining ten. With the addition of Sadio Mane (fourth) and Mohamed Salah (fifth) Van Dijk at the pinnacle of the list, the Reds became the first team in Barcelona in 2016 to have three players in the top five.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo was third on the ballot, and now sits one trophy behind Messi’s all-time leading tally.

Some observers have suggested Liverpool stalwart Virgil van Dijk should be honored, but the Dutchman settled for second place.

If he had captured the title, Van Dijk would have been the first defender to win football’s most coveted personal prize since Fabio Canavero, in 2006. Read more.