Messi Wins FIFA Player of Year for 2019 in Controversial Decision

Lionel Messi won the FIFA Best Men's Player award for 2019, defeating Liverpool and Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk and fierce rival Cristiano Ronaldo to win the iconic award.

Messi won the La Liga with Barcelona last season, in addition to helping his team reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League before crashing out against Liverpool.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has not attended the ceremony so his name was not announced on the stage while everybody stood behind and came to the forefront as their names were called out. While some pundits expected that Van Djik would bring home the award due to the great season enjoyed with the Reds.

Liverpool’s head coach Jurgen Klopp has been named as the Best FIFA Men’s Coach of the Year 2019 at the glittering ceremony of the 2019 Best FIFA Football Awards, currently held in Milan.

The German coach won the award against his Premier League competitors Pep Guardiola, Manchester City’s head coach, and Tottenham Hotspur’s Mauricio Pochettino.

Klopp guided his team to win the UEFA Champions League, defeating Tottenham in the final with unanswered two goals.

In addition, Liverpool’s goalkeeper Alisson Becker followed the footsteps of his coach Jurgen Klopp by being chosen as the Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year 2019.

FIFA is currently holding a glittering ceremony in Milan for prestigious accolades of the 2019 Best FIFA Football Awards.

Alisson saw off competition from his Premier League rival Ederson, who is the keeper of Manchester City, and Barcelona’s keeper Ter Stegen as they competed to win prestigious accolade which recognizes the best male goalkeeper over the last 12 months.

FIFA also revealed the ideal squad for this year which reads as follows:

Alisson Becker, Matthijs de Ligt, Sergio Ramos, Virgil van Dijk, Marcelo, Luka Modric, Frenkie de Jong, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Eden Hazard and Cristiano Ronaldo.