Lionel Messi, who won his sixth Ballon d’Or on Monday, found out about his achievement in as early as November. And if the editor of France Football magazine, the presenter of the coveted award, is to be believed, Messi had exclaimed in wilderness when he was told for the first time that he would be winning his sixth Ballon d’Or.
According to a report in Barca Blaugranes, the Argentine superstar could not stop his excitement when he was told that he would be winnings his sixth Ballon d’Or and said, “For real? For real? For real?”
“It was a very natural conversation. I told him that I wanted to talk about the Ballon d’Or, that I had news to give him, and he told me he had heard rumours. I responded to him like this: ‘well, they are not rumours, I am announcing to you officially that you have won the Ballon d’Or.’ And then he started to ask me, ‘For real? For real? For real?’ I told him many times, and I responded to him that, yes, yes, yes, he is the winner,” Pascal Ferre, the editor-in-chief of France football magazine was quoted as saying.
Surpassing the likes of Liverpool duo Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi took home the 2019 Ballon d’Or award.
With this award, he took his Ballon d’Or tally to six and has become the most successful player since the inception of the award, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five such awards to his name.
Liverpool’s Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk finished a close second behind the Argentine superstar. While Messi won the award with 686 points, Van Dijk finished at 679 points.
The United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) captain Megan Rapinoe bagged the Ballon d’Or 2019 for women.