The 2019 Ballon d’Or is the next big thing in the football world. Football fans around the globe are waiting for 2 December when the winner will be announced. France Football gives the coveted award annually to acknowledge the best football player of the calendar year. In 2019, Lionel Messi and Virgil van Dijk are the frontrunners to win the award with Cristiano Ronaldo expected to finish third.
However, there are reports from Spain which are claiming that Lionel Messi is set to win his sixth Ballon d’Or and that he has also been informed about the same in advance so that he could prepare for the same. However, Liverpool fans still seem not to have come to terms with this reality. One such fan has started an online petition for Sadio Mane to lift the esteemed award on 2 December as reported by Fox Sports Asia.
The Senegalese star was in brilliant form last season as he aided the Reds to lift their UEFA Champions League title. He was also one of the primary reasons why Liverpool almost won the Premier League, losing out to Manchester City by one point. While Mane managed to net as many as 22 goals in the league, he added four more and three assists in the UEFA Champions League. This suggests that Mane has a strong case for himself but against some of the other top players he might not be able to win the award this year.
It remains to be seen whether or not Mane manages to clinch the 2019 Ballon d’Or and become the second African to claim the award after George Weah.