Messi Wins Sixth Ballon d'Or

On Desember 2, Lionel Messi received his sixth Ballon d'Or award, soccer's top individual prize.

With the record win, many say the FC Barcelona star has all but cemented his status as the best soccer player ever.

At the ceremony in Paris, Messi was handed the trophy by the previous winner, Luka Modric of Croatia.

The 32-year-old Argentine won his first Ballon d'Or in 2009, but this was his first win since 2015.

Messi faced strong competition for the 2019 Ballon d'Or, which is decided by journalists.

He finished in the voting just ahead of Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands, who led Liverpool to the Champions League title.

Also, Korean striker Son Heung-min finished 22nd in the voting, becoming the first Asian soccer player to achieve this feat.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo came in third in the voting.

However, the Portuguese star was noticeably absent from the ceremony as his rival claimed the prize and beat his record of five Ballon d'Or awards.

The majority of sports journalists agreed that Messi deserved his sixth Ballon d'Or.

In the 2018 to 2019 season, he swept all the top accolades while playing for Barcelona in the Spanish soccer league La Liga.

In total, he scored 63 goals for both his club and his country.

"I would like to thank all of the journalists who voted for me and wanted me to have this prize," Messi said.

"I hope to continue for a long time."

The Ballon d'Or for the best female player went to Megan Rapinoe of the United States.

She co-captained her country's team to the Women's World Cup title in 2019.

She was also named the tournament's best player.

 

• cement sɪˈment 시멘트 /  A와 B를 접합시키다  status ˈsteɪtəs (사회적) 지위 , (법적) 신분[자격]  all but  거의 , ~외에 모두 voting |voʊtɪŋ 투표, 선거

• just ahead 바로 앞에  feat fiːt 위업, 개가, (뛰어난) 솜씨[재주]  noticeably 두드러지게, 현저히 absent 결석한, 결근한 (↔present)

• accolade ˈækəleɪd 포상, 칭찬