Messi clarifies his votes for the Golden Ball

Lionel Messi has said that Sadio Mane, whom he voted as the first option to win the 2019 Golden Ball, was very unlucky to remain fourth in the race for Argentina, after Argentinean Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Barcelona’s Argentine star Lionel Messi was awarded the Golden Ball, handed to the player rated as the best on the planet in 2019. He won this award for the sixth time in his career, with Van Dijku second in race.

The Liverpool defender also lost the FIFA Player of the Year award after Messi won the award for the first time in his career.

Liverpool’s achievements over the past 12 months have made the Englishman’s footballers the center of attention when it comes to individual awards given to players.

Messi is one of the people who have valued Liverpool players, singling out Sadio Manen. This was made clear when asked about his votes for the Ballon d’Or by Canal + Sport Africa.

“It’s a disaster that Mane finished in fourth place. But, I think there were a lot of great players this year. For this reason it was difficult to choose a single player,” said Messi.

“But I chose Sadio Manen because he is a player I really like.”

“Mane has achieved great things this year, which was outstanding for the whole Liverpool squad. That’s why I chose him.”

“I repeat, there were a lot of really great players this year, so it was hard to pick.”