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HomeArticlesLionel Messi NOT favourite to win Ballon d'Or 2020 despite great season

Lionel Messi NOT favourite to win Ballon d’Or 2020 despite great season

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For the past twelve years, the prestigious Ballon d’Or has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two leading forces of global football. From 2008, Ronaldo has been the winner five times, and Messi set a record in 2019 with his sixth award. It was only in 2018, when Real Madrid ace Luka Modrić was the first time in a decade that  a player other than the dominating duo was chosen to be the winner. However, that incident is likely to be repeated again. Despite having a great season with Barcelona, Messi is losing his favourite spot to none other than Robert Lewandowski!

Messi
Image Courtesy: Bleacherreport/Handout

The 2020 Ballon d’Or Odds are out, and the Bayern Munich goal machine Robert Lewandowski is a 3/1 favourite, ahead of Messi who is 4/1. While the Barca captain has performed marvellous in the 2019-20 La Liga season with 22 goals, Lewandowski is taking the cake in the odds.

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Ronaldo, who came third in the 2019 awards, is 5/1 down in fourth, behind Manchester City talisman Kevin de Bruyne in third, the first Premier League player to be featured in the odds list.

Lewandowski is edging out Messi for the 2020 Ballon d’Or

The Polish hit man has been an absolute sensation in the current season, and has scored a whopping 34 goals in 31 appearances for the Bavarian giants. The 31 year old is also the leading goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 11 goals, miles ahead of both Messi and Ronaldo, the usual top scorer of the tournament in the past.

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Former Manchester United forward Robin van Persie has also hailed Lewandowski as the probable winner of the 2020 Ballon d’Or via a post on Twitter. Surprisingly, neither Messi nor Ronaldo is in his top three, as he ranks de Bruyne and Liverpool icon Sadio Mané as his second and third choices.

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On the other hand, Real Madrid gaffer Zinedine Zidane has stated that Karim Benzema and the rest of the Galacticos squad are all deserving to be the winner of the award.

“In football, everyone can have a say. For me, my players are the best,” the former French international said in a press conference.

“Karim is not only this year, he has done very well for many years. The Ballon d’Or is won by only one, and everyone can comment, but for me all my players deserve it,” the 48 year old added.

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Saikat Banerjee
Saikat Banerjee
A wordsmith who indulges in the world of combat sports, Saikat is an MMA, boxing, and arm wrestling content writer at The MMA India Show and The Sports Room. Apart from combat sports, he also engages in Indian sports content at The Sports India Show. Currently pursuing an MBA from Jadavpur University, Saikat's other interests lie in motorcycling, working out, and travelling.
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