Who will win Ballon dOr 2019?





Messi is now favourite to win his sixth Ballon dOr with odds of 1/9 , despite losing out on the Champions League and Copa del Rey and only lifting the Liga trophy with Barcelona. He did win the European Golden Shoe with 36 goals, though failing to win the Copa America with Argentina this summer could impact his chances.

The Barcelona forward was named the Best FIFA Mens player in September and that could help him as he aims to pip Van Dijk to the Ballon dOr.

Liverpool being crowned European champions made centre-back Van Dijk one of the favourites to win the Ballon dOr, but his odds lengthened somewhat in the lead up to the ceremony to 6/1. He was a surprise winner of the UEFA Mens Player of the Year award and was also crowned UEFA Defender of the Season.

The Netherlands star was instrumental in Liverpools 2019 UCL victory. The only thing that would work against him is the fact that the Ballon dOr is very rarely awarded to a centre-back, with Fabio Cannavaro the last defender to win the Ballon d’Or in 2006 after winning the World Cup for Italy and lifting the Serie A title in Juventus colours.

Van Dijk missing out on the Nations League trophy with the Netherlands, losing to Portugal in the final, could also prove to be detrimental.

Juventus star Ronaldo had a disappointing season on a personal level, having finished the season as his clubs top scorer but not the top scorer in Serie A, but remains 25/1 to win the Ballon dOr for a sixth time.

The striker, like Messi, did lift the league title, but his missing out on the UCL trophy could also hinder his chances. But in tandem with Van Dijk, Ronaldo leading his country to the Nations League trophy in June could put him into the running again ahead of his Argentina rival.