In a recent development, former Barcelona and Manchester City star Yaya Toure has claimed that Liverpool forward Sadio Mane should have been given the top honour in the coveted Ballon d’Or 2019 ceremony. Toure chose him over his former teammate and eventual winner Lionel Messi.
“To be honest he [Mane] deserved to win the Ballon d’Or. In Africa we don’t see any better players than him,” Toure told reporters in Doha as quoted by Goal.
“Did you see the votes, did you see what he did in the last year, how many goals he scored, what he achieved with Liverpool?” he added.
“For me, it is a shame when a team wins this trophy [the Champions League] and the winner of the Ballon d’Or is not coming from there,” he reasoned.
Although another Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk came really close to bagging the coveted trophy after he played a crucial role in helping Liverpool win the 2018-19 Champions League, it was Lionel Messi who was adjudged the winner. Notably, Messi was part of the La Liga winning Barcelona squad in addition to being the top-scorer in the European football.
Sadio Mane finished fourth in the Ballon d’Or rankings. While Lionel Messi and Virgil van Dijk finished winners and runner up respectively, Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo finished third.