WORLD SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Lionel MESSI
2019
Trio…Lionel Messi, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool claimed the prizes
Five alive for Messi
L
ionel Messi is World Soccer’s Soccer’ World Player of the Year for 2019, edging out Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk in one of the closest contests of recent times. It is Messi’s fifth World Soccer award – after victories in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 – equalling the achievement of his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo (winner in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017). Messi’s astonishing form for Spanish title-winners Barcelona gave him the edge over the Champions Leaguewinning Liverpool and Netherlands defender in a poll of journalists and pundits from around the world. Messi won a tenth La Liga title with Barca in May, but they were surprisingly beaten by Valencia in the final of the Copa del Rey. And despite a wonderful performance from the Argentinian against Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, they were beaten by an incredible comeback from Van Dijk and his team-mates in the return leg at Anfield. In the summer’s Copa America, Messi’s Argentina lost to hosts Brazil in the semi-finals and suffered from some questionable refereeing in the third-place play-off versus Chile, when
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PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Messi was controversially sent off. But it was in La Liga where he shone brightest. “All you can do is applaud,” said Diego Simeone after the Atletico Madrid coach had just seen his team succumb to another Lionel Messi wondergoal – and he could not stop himself from showing his appreciation for his fellow Argentinian from the touchline. Collecting the ball 50 yards out on the right-hand flank in front of
the watching Simeone, and with a sea of Atletico shirts in front of him, Messi advanced towards goal, exchanged quick passes with Luis Suarez and side-footed a fierce low shot into the corner of the net. The impossibly difficult made to look effortlessly simple. It was typically Messi. If any other player had broken the deadlock in a top-of-the-table clash with an 86th-minute winner they would be feted and their goal endlessly replayed. But for Messi it was just another day at
Magical… another goalladen year
