Messi wins record sixth men’s Ballon d’Or, Rapinoe wins women’s award
Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or on Monday, while the United States’ Megan Rapinoe won the women’s prize after leading her country to World Cup glory earlier this year.
The Barcelona forward won the men’s award, beating Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk into second place. Five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo came third at the awards ceremony at the Chatelet Theater in Paris.
It is the sixth time Messi has won the accolade, arguably football’s top individual award, but the first since 2015. He also won it in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
“It is 10 years since I won my first Ballon d’Or here in Paris and I remember coming here with my three brothers, I was 22 and it was all unthinkable for me what I was going through,” the Argentinian said.
“Now ten years on this is my sixth, in a very different time, very special in my personal life with my wife and three children.”
Messi also had a warning for any of his rivals thinking his days at football’s top table maybe numbered. “I am aware of the age I have but I hope I have several years left to keep enjoying my football and doing this.”
Winning this year’s Ballon d’Or may come as a surprise to some, having only added a La Liga title to his vast collection of winners’ medals in 2019, whereas Virgil van Dijk and his Liverpool teammates Sadio Mane, who came fourth, and Mohamed Salah, who came fifth, won European club football’s most prestigious trophy in 2019 — the Champions League.
Messi did not enjoy the best of summers either, failing to win the Copa America and getting sent off in the third-place match against Chile. Messi subsequently accused the South American soccer federation, CONMEBOL, of “corruption,” receiving a three-month ban from international football for his remarks.
Read more: Opinion: Comparing van Dijk, Messi and Ronaldo is pointless
Megan Rapinoe wins Ballon d’Or after World Cup exploits
Rapinoe holds aloft the World Cup trophy after the United States defeated the Netherlands in the final
Megan Rapinoe earlier received the women’s Ballon d’Or after leading the United States to a record fourth World Cup in France this year.
The 34-year-old was the standout performer at this summer’s tournament scoring six goals, earning her the Golden Boot as the top scorer and the Golden Ball as the top player. She succeeded Norway’s Ada Hegerberg, who was the inaugural female recipient of the award in 2018.
Rapinoe, who was not present at the ceremony, said in a prerecorded message: “I’m so sad I can’t make it tonight. It’s absolutely incredible congrats to the other nominees. I can’t believe I’m the one winning in this field, it’s been an incredible year.”
“I want to thank my team mates and the US federation.”
The Ballon d’Or award honors the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous year, based on voting by football journalists, coaches and captains of national teams.
-
US women’s soccer team celebrates World Cup victory in New York
‘Women’s rights icons now’
To chants of “equal pay,” the US women’s soccer team paraded the World Cup trophy through New York’s financial district. In a fever pitch of global interest, the team beat The Netherlands 2-0 in the final. “The level of interest and excitement is much higher from four years,” said Jessica Lappin, president of the parade’s organizers. “That’s partly because they’re women’s rights icons now.”
-
US women’s soccer team celebrates World Cup victory in New York
Taking the lead
In a fiery speech at the parade, celebrated co-captain Megan Rapinoe described her squad as a mixture of all sorts of characters. But Rapinoe, an outspoken gay activist who has called for greater equality for women, urged supporters to engage their communities at a deeper level. “We have to be better, love more and hate less,” Rapinoe said. “This is everyone’s responsibility.”
-
US women’s soccer team celebrates World Cup victory in New York
Up four the fight
Player of the tournament Megan Rapinoe holds aloft the trophy as teammates celebrate the fourth World Cup triumph by the US women’s team. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio presented the ceremonial keys to the city to the players, and stars Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd thanked the country for supporting the team.
-
US women’s soccer team celebrates World Cup victory in New York
Fighting for equality
Despite their successful performance over the past decades, women do not earn the same on international duty as the US men’s team. In March, the women’s team sued the US Federation for equal pay. “They play the same game that men soccer players play. They play it better, with better results,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. “If there’s any economic rationale, the men should get paid less.”
-
US women’s soccer team celebrates World Cup victory in New York
‘No’ to the White House
Even before US President Donald Trump extended an invite to the team, Rapinoe had said she would decline. In an interview on Tuesday, she said she didn’t believe anyone else would accept. “I would say that your message is excluding people,” she said when asked if she had a message for Trump. “Maybe America is great for a few people right now, but it’s not great for enough Americans in this world.”
-
US women’s soccer team celebrates World Cup victory in New York
Down the hatch
Megan Rapinoe pours champagne as the United States Women’s Soccer team ride up the Canyon Of Heroes at a Ticker Tape Parade in New York City. Team USA started celebrating the back-to-back World Cup victories on Sunday. In 2015, they beat Japan in the final, whom they had lost to four years earlier.
jsi/aw (Reuters, dpa, AFP, AP)
Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW’s editors send out a selection of the day’s hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/messi-wins-record-sixth-men-s-ballon-d-or-rapinoe-wins-women-s-award/a-51507511?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf