Didier Drogba, who was co-hosting the Ballon d’Or 2019 awards ceremony, revealed that he had refused to take a picture with 10-year-old Mbappe.
Didier Drogba (R) in the selfie with Kylian Mbappe (Middle). (Photo: Twitter/@francefootball)
Former Chelsea footballer Didier Drogba finally paid a decade-long debt to Kylian Mbappe by taking a selfie with him on the stage of Ballon d’Or 2019 awards ceremony on Monday.
Drogba, who was co-hosting the awards ceremony, revealed that he had refused to take a picture with 10-year-old Mbappe after the infamous Champions League 2009 semi-final between Chelsea and Barcelona in 2009 at the Stamford Bridge.
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The former Ivory Coast international added that he was infuriated by the poor refereeing which cost Chelsea the match. Andreas Iniesta had scored a last-minute winner to send the Catalans into the final.
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“Ten years ago after a match, a child came to me and wanted to take a picture. That day I said no because of the result [and the refereeing]. I learned that the child was Kylian Mbappe. I want to pay my debt now,” Drogba was seen saying while hosting the event.
Selfie time! 🤳
EVERYBODY PLEASE STAND UP! 🙌🙌🙌 #ballondor pic.twitter.com/IKzPXRQDGS
— #BallondOr (@francefootball) December 2, 2019
He then went on to ask the entire audience to stand up and participate in the selfie, similar to the famous Hollywood selfie from 2014 Oscars of American TV host Ellen DeGeneres.
A host of international footballers including Lionel Messi, Virgil van Dijk, Robert Lewandowski, Alisson Becker and Antoine Griezmann stood from the first row of the audience for the entire hall to follow them as Drogba clicked the selfie with Mbappe and his co-host Sandy Heribert.
Incidentally, Mbappe had trialled with the Chelsea academy in 2009 before joining Monaco’s youth system.
Lionel Messi won the top honours of the night to take home his sixth Ballon d’Or. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk finished as the runners-up while Cristiano Ronaldo was voted third.
The United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) captain Megan Rapinoe bagged the Ballon d’Or 2019 for women.
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