Lionel Messi awarded record sixth Ballon d’OrDecember 3, 2019 - 11:36 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi has been awarded the 2019 Ballon d’Or. At a star-studded ceremony in Paris on Monday, December 2 evening, the FC Barcelona star was crowned the world’s best player for the first time since 2015 and on a record sixth occasion overall after seeing off strong competition from the likes of Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk, Forbes reports. Buzz had been growing for weeks that the Argentine was a cert for soccer’s highest individual accolade. Especially in Catalonia, where the autnomous province’s two main newspapers, Mundo Deportivo and SPORT, filled column inches with claims that the club and country captain had done enough to please the jury. This of course consisted of 182 respected journalists worldwide, but as recent as last week, Mundo Deportivo insisted that France Football, the magazine that established the prize before being joined by FIFA in 2010, had already been in Barcelona to conduct an interview and photoshoot with the 32-year-old. Messi’s stranglehold on the golden ball began in 2009, which is when he claimed the treble under Pep Guardiola and then set off on an unprecedented run of four straight wins that was interrupted by Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo, then at Real Madrid, ruled for two straight editions before Messi, this time on Luis Enrique’s watch, sealed another club triple crown in 2015 and was handed a record fifth golden ball for his troubles. Owing to Ronaldo’s part in Los Blancos lifting the Champions League in 2016 and becoming the first team to retain it twice in 2017, the Portuguese eventually drew level with the club and country captain. Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. |