Ballon d'Or highlights: Lionel Messi crowned the world's best player for a record 6th time

The Ballon d'Or 2019 ceremony just concluded on Monday night and as expected, Lionel Messi scooped the award for the sixth time in his career. The Barcelona forward had stiff competition from Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk but eventually prevailed with the Dutch defender taking second place on the podium. Keep reading for the 2019 Ballon d'Or highlights.

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Ballon d'Or 2019: Lionel Messi wins

Presented by France Football, the 64th ceremony of the Ballon d'Or was held on Monday night (Tuesday, December 3 IST) at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris, France. Lionel Messi, who already won the 2019 FIFA Men's Best Player award back in September beating Virgil van Dijk, once again beat the Dutchman to lift the Ballon D'Or 2019. Messi won the award back in 2015 and has now 6 Ballon d'Or awards, leaving his Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo behind at 5.

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Ballon d'Or highlights: Numbers that matter

Lionel Messi scored an astonishing 51 goals in 50 appearances last season to help Barcelona win the LaLiga title. He also led Argentina to a 3rd placed finish at the Copa America 2019. Lionel Messi scored 45 goals so far in 2019 and has continued his surreal form once again this season. Virgil van Dijk came second after helping Liverpool win the Champions League last season and leading the club's march to a Premier League title this season. Cristiano Ronaldo finished third to complete the top three in the Ballon d'Or 2019.

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Ballon d'Or highlights: The Top 10

Liverpool's progress under Jurgen Klopp was well-rewarded in the Ballon D'Or 2019 ceremony after three Liverpool players - Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk made it to the top five.

Ballon d'Or highlights: The winners

Among the other winners, Megan Rapinoe beat Lucy Bronze and fellow World Cup winner Alex Morgan to claim the Ballon D'Or Feminin. Liverpool's Alisson Becker won the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper. Juventus defender Matthijs de Light won the 2019 Kopa Trophy for the best performing player in the Under-21 category. 

Watch: Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or 2019 winning speech

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