Reports have started leaking out of the Spanish press that Lionel Messi will win his record sixth Ballon D’or award on Monday.
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool had been the odds-on favorite for months. However, Messi has done what very few players have recently: he’s gotten past the center-back and become a heavy favorite to win.
2019 Ballon D’or Odds
Lionel Messi: -900
Virgil van Dijk: +600
Cristiano Ronaldo: +2000
Everyone else of note is +10000 or more.
This year’s award was always going to come down to Messi or VVD. Ronaldo’s time is passing and any number of other candidates (Alisson, Raheem Sterling, Sadio Mane) were more deserving. Expect some changing of the guard for the top three next year with some more new faces (except for Messi, as he is not of this Earth).
Lionel Messi Ballon D’ors
This would make Messi’s sixth Ballon D’or. He previously won the award in:
2009
2010
2011
2012
2015
As big of an impact as van Dijk had on Liverpool, it’s hard to argue with Messi’s presumed win this year. As we’ve written many times, he had one of the all-time best seasons of his all-time great career.
Messi’s Barcelona squad won La Liga last season but bowed out of the Champions League semis after an epic comeback by Liverpool at Anfield.
