The Personal Assistant on New Media to the President, Ahmad Bashir, has commended Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi for winning the 2019 Ballon d’Or award.
Messi is the first player to win a sixth golden ball trophy, moving one ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s haul of five. Ronaldo, who did not attend the ceremony in Paris, ranked third behind Van Dijk, and ahead of the defender’s Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane in fourth.
Reacting to the award, Bashir said Messi deserved the award more than any other player.
In a tweet, the Presidential aide wrote: “Lionel #Messi deserved this #Ballondor more than any player, and this is very very true! Congratulations! By the way #HalaMadrid.”
Messi, 32, has enjoyed yet another impressive year for Barcelona, with the club currently top of the Spanish league after Messi won his 10th Liga title in May, but he suffered disappointment in the Copa del Rey final defeat by Valencia and was left stunned by Liverpool’s famous Champions League semi-final comeback at Anfield.
Last year’s winner Luka Modric presented Messi with the award. Suggestions 12 months ago that the Croatian midfielder might have brought down the curtain down on the Messi-Ronaldo decade of dominance evidently proved premature.