Lionel Messi having more Ballon d'Or awards than Cristiano Ronaldo annoys Maurizio Sarri

Barcelona star Lionel Messi won his career’s sixth Ballon d’Or on December 2, 2019, in Paris. The Argentine overtook his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won five Ballon d’Or awards in total. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk was the runner up at last year’s award ceremony, while Cristiano Ronaldo finished third in the Ballon d’Or rankings.

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Maurizio Sarri felt annoyed by Lionel Messi's Ballon d'or success

Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri has spoken on his star man’s aspirations to win the Ballon d’Or. Sarri stated that he would be willing to help Cristiano Ronaldo to win his career’s sixth Ballon d’Or and equal Lionel Messi's record. He also asserted that it was annoying to know that someone (Messi) had won more than Ronaldo. Sarri further acceded that it was his as well as his team’s goal to help Ronaldo win the much-prized award again.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has seen a decline in his goal-scoring numbers

Cristiano Ronaldo has seen a decline in his goal-scoring numbers since the past season. The Portuguese scored 28 goals in 43 appearances while bagging 10 assists in the previous season. He won the Serie A with Juventus, while also being crowned as the Most Valuable Serie A player of the year. However, he lost out against Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or.

This season, Ronaldo has managed to score 16 goals along with three assists in 23 appearances. His arch-rival Messi has also scored an equal number of goals. He has bagged nine assists in 20 appearances across all competitions.

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Lionel Messi beats Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or

Lionel Messi had scored 51 goals in 50 games last season, making him the most favourable choice for the Ballon d’Or. He won the LaLiga with Barcelona, while also clinching his sixth European Boot for scoring the most goals in Europe’s top five leagues. His closest challenger for the award was Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, who won the UEFA Champions League last season. He was also crowned as the UEFA Player of the Year.

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