‘Leaked Ballon D’Or Rankings’ Shared On Social Media Detailing 2019 Winner

By Mirror:

A list of Ballon D’Or rankings has been leaked on social media ahead of the awards ceremony on Monday – with Lionel Messi named as the winner.

The Barcelona forward is favourite to win the award for a record sixth time but faces competition from Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.

In the image shared on Twitter, Messi tops the voting with 446 points to van Dijk’s 382 in second.

The voting for the award has already been cast, but it is unclear whether the list is official or not.

Van Dijk’s Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah is listed in third, just ahead of five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sadio Mane makes up the top five in the list, while PSG star Kylian Mbappe is down in seventh.

The award celebrates the best footballer in the calendar year and is voted on by journalists from around the world out of a shortlist of 30 players. Messi and Ronaldo have won the award more times than any other player, but their 10-year dominance was broken last year by Real Madrid’s Luka Modric.

Following Liverpool’s Champions League success van Dijk was touted for the award, but bookmakers still feel Messi will triumph, and have priced him at odds of 1/9. Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard feels van Dijk should pip Messi to this year’s prize, however, because he believes the Dutchman has had a better year.

When asked if van Dijk should win it, Gerrard told Goal: “Yes, 100 per cent.

“I’m Messi’s number one fan, for sure. I love the player. Obscene numbers in his game in terms of assists and goals. I’m definitely a Messi fan, in the gang.

“But if you talk about consistency from one player over a year, who wins the European Cup and is absolutely faultless in every performance, that means you deserve to win the Ballon d’Or.”

The winner will be announced on Monday in a ceremony in Paris.

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