PARIS, Dec 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Lionel Messi and USA women’s World Cup
superstar Megan Rapinoe are tipped to leave Paris later on Monday with the
2019 Ballon d’Or awards.
It would be an enormous shock if Rapinoe did not depart the Chatelet
Theatre with the women’s prize as she returns to the country where she was
the driving force on and off the field for the United States as they retained
their title.
The suspense surrounds the identity of the men’s winner, 12 months after
Croatia’s Luka Modric claimed the crown thanks to his exploits in dragging
his country to the World Cup final and winning the Champions League with Real
Madrid.
That ended a decade in which Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had won the Ballon
d’Or five times each, but the smart money now is on the Barcelona man
claiming number six.
There are 30 nominees in total for the prize, organised by France Football
magazine and voted for by 180 journalists from around the world.
– The case for Van Dijk –
Among the names is Ronaldo, as well as several of the stars of the
Liverpool side who won the Champions League, chief among them Dutch defender
Virgil van Dijk.
At one point he looked like the favourite, but Messi already pipped him to
FIFA’s The Best title in September.
“In matches that are close and intense, having Leo (Messi) is always a big
advantage,” said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde after the 32-year-old
scored a late winner against Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Messi top-scored in La Liga last season with 36 goals as Barcelona won the
title. He did not have a great Copa America with Argentina, but his genius is
undeniable.
“If you give the Ballon d’Or to the best player of this generation then you
should give it always to Lionel Messi. That’s how it is,” admitted Liverpool
manager Jurgen Klopp.
“But if you give it to the best player of last season, then it was Virgil
van Dijk. I don’t know exactly how it will work but that is how I see it.”
The value of individual honours in football is debatable, and the timing
unsatisfactory, coming midway through the European club season.
Yet surely nobody could suggest Rapinoe would not be a deserving winner of
just the second women’s Ballon d’Or, an award voted for by a panel of 48
journalists.
Norway’s Ada Hegerberg won it in 2018 but will not retain her title after
missing the World Cup.
Among the stars of that tournament to be nominated are England’s Lucy
Bronze, Netherlands striker Vivianne Miedema, Australia’s Sam Kerr and the
USA trio of Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle and Tobin Heath.
However Rapinoe, the 34-year-old feminist icon and outspoken critic of US
President Donald Trump, should add this honour to those of Golden Boot winner
for top scorer and Golden Ball for best player at the World Cup.
Even her supposed rivals seem to be rooting for her.
“She does lots of things off the pitch, but I think she is the favourite to
win the Ballon d’Or mainly down to her performances during the World Cup,”
Bronze told France Football.