Messi, Ronaldo and co miss out as 2020 Ballon d’Or cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic
The L’Équipe Group , to which France Football magazine belongs , organizer of the Ballon d’Or since 1956 , made the decision not to award the Ballon d’Or in 2020 .
This means 2019 winner Messi will keep his crown for another 12 months. The Barcelona superstar has six Ballons d’Or to his name, with rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus has five.
The winners of the last edition of the Ballon d’Or will have no successors at the end of the year. It is the first time since 1956 that the ceremony has been suspended.
Ballon d’Or 2020 cancelled due to coronavirus
The magazine started giving out a women’s award in 2018, but that has also been put on hold. “It’s such a strange year that we couldn’t treat it as an ordinary one. Let’s say that we started talking about (making the decision) at least two months ago,”. France Football editor Pascal Ferrş told in a telephone interview.
Lionel Messi beat Virgil van Dijk to the Ballon d’Or last year – his seventh triumph – the most of any player in history.
France Football say ‘all the conditions are not met’ and that 2020 ‘should not be treated as ordinary’.
Editor Pascal Ferre said: “For the first time since 1956, the Ballon d’Or will take a break. There will be no edition in 2020, because it turns out, after thoughtful consideration, that all the conditions are not met.
In place of the usual 4 winners ( Ballon d’Or, Kopa and Yachine men’s and women’s trophies ). France Football will appoint eleven at the end of the year, with the revelation of the all-time team chosen by the usual jury of experts from the ceremony, that is, about 180 juries from around the world
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