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Sadio Mane has had a remarkable year for both club and country but finished fourth in the 2019 Ballon d'Or vote, which Messi terms "a shame". The 27-year-old Senegal and Liverpool forward spearheaded the Reds to their first UEFA Champions League title since 2005 and finished runner-up with Senegal in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He was also the Premier League's joint Golden Boot winner. Barcelona legend Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or for a record sixth time. He revealed Mane was his top choice for The Best FIFA Men's Player earlier in September. "It’s a shame to see Mane finish in fourth place. "But I think there have been a lot of great players this year. That's why it was difficult to choose a particular player. But I chose Sadio Mane because he's a player that I like. "Mane achieved a great year that was exceptional for the entire Liverpool team. That's why I chose him. I repeat, there were a lot of very great play

It's no secret that Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has a lot of admiration for Lionel Messi. However, when it comes to who deserves to win the Ballon d'Or this year, Klopp doesn't think it should be him as he believes Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk was the better performer over the year.  "If you give the Ballon d'Or to the best player of this generation then you should give it always to Lionel Messi. That's how it is," Klopp said. "But if you give it to the best player of last season, then it was Virgil van Dijk. I don't know exactly how it will work but that is how I see it. "The best player of all? That's Lionel. Best player of last season? That's Virgil. We will see." Should Van Dijk win the Ballon d'Or in December, he'll be the first defender since Fabio Cannavaro in 2006 to claim the honor. Lionel Messi last won the Ballon d'Or in 2015. Should he claim it again this year, he would be ahead of Cris

Nominees for the 11th edition of the Globe Soccer Awards have been revealed. Juventus Star Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona ace Lionel Messi and Liverpool stars Alisson Becker, Mohammad Salah, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk, and Manchester City's Bernado Silva. Three new categories have been added, namely Best Women's Player of the Year, Best Club of the Year and Best Referee of the Year. A Globe Soccer Jury that includes the likes of soccer experts like coaches Antonio Conte and Fabio Capello, and director of football at Barcelona - Eric Abidal, among others shall elect the eventual winners from each category. Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Best Men's Player of the Year award in the last three editions of the Globe Soccer Awards. Here are all the categories up for awards this year: Best player (men) Alisson Becker, Liverpool Bernardo Silva, Manchester City Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus Lionel Messi, Barcelona Mohammad Salah, Liverpool Sadio Mane, Liverpool V

Lionel Messi's free-kick against Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals was voted UEFA Goal of the Season for 2018/2019. Messi's free-kick was his second goal of the night and 600th for Barcelona. This is the third time the Argentinian has claimed the award, winning the first two editions of the award - 2014/2015 and 2015/2016. Messi won the vote ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo who was in contention thanks to his group stage volley for Juventus against Manchester United. UEFA.com Goal of the Season roll of honor 2018 : Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) v Juventus, 03/04/18 2017 : Mario Mandžukić (Juventus) v Real Madrid, 03/06/17 2016 : Lionel Messi (Barcelona) v Roma, 24/11/15 2015 : Lionel Messi (Barcelona) v Bayern, 06/05/15  

Ronaldo Nazario, the Brazil legend, and former Barcelona and Real Madrid player expressed his views on Barcelona's Champion League debacle. Last week, Barcelona beat the Reds 3-0 at Camp Nou, but were beaten by Liverpool 0-4 in dramatic fashion on Tuesday. Ronaldo believes the blame for Barcelona's failures does not get shared round the team equally. He told  Marca ,  "Barcelona has a great team." "They have the best player in the world, Messi, and the other day I heard that the loss was the fault of Valverde, Coutinho but never Messi's fault. "Instead, when they win, it's the Barcelona of Messi that wins. It's a tremendous injustice for all of the players and the staff. "Liverpool's intensity wasn't a surprise for Barcelona, but they were missing a little luck. "The first leg was a great game from Barcelona with an extraordinary performance by Messi, but in the second leg Liverpool ate up Barcelona with intensity,