Who will win the 2019 Ballon d'Or? This is a question on many football fans lips. This is one of the closest we have seen in recent time.
We have Van Dijk, Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alisson, Sadio Mane, and Muhammed Salah all in contention.
Van Dijk
He had a good season for Liverpool and was part of the team that kept 21 cleansheets in the league. They went ahead to claim the Uefa Champions league too. He was the best player in the Liverpool squad last season and continued his strong showing by captaining Netherlands to the Nations League final where they lost to Portugal.
He won the PFA player of the year award and he is one of the top contenders for the award.
Leo Messi
He scored goals for fun last season and that saw them winning the La Liga trophy. Unfortunately, he was unable to replicate the performance in the Copa del Rey, the Uefa Champions league and also the just concluded Copa America. Despite this setbacks, his goals and the sole La Liga trophy makes him a strong contender. He will hope that his setbacks are not used to judge him but the goals he scored and how he helped Barcelona to the Domestic league trophy.
Cristiano Ronaldo
A move to Juventus this season saw him winning the Serie A, SuperCoppa Italiana in his debut season. He also won the Serie A most valuable player. Despite being ousted in the Champions league by Ajax, he was their best player in the competition. He carried the good club form to the Nations league where he scored a sensational hattrick in the Semi final win against Switzerland before helping Portugal see out Netherlands in the final thereby winning the inaugural edition of the Nations League. He will hope to add to his 5 Ballon d'Or awards won.
Alisson
Liverpool brought in Alisson following Karius blunder in the 2018 Champions league final against Real Madrid. He has proven to be a formidable figure in goal. 21 cleansheets in the league which includes awesome saves. He was instrumental to Brazil success in the Copa America and conceded just one goal which was in the final against Peru. That shows how good he is. He will look to be the second goalkeeper after Lev Yashin to win the prestigious award.
Sadio Mane
EPL highest goalscorer (tied with Aubameyang and Salah) and with some amount of assists, he is Liverpool main force upfront. When all hope seems lost, he finds a way out for Liverpool. This might be his season to win a huge individual award. Although, he's not one of the favourites but he is currently one of the key figures for Senegal in the Africa cup of nations. Winning it will definitely boost his chance.
Mohamed Salah
He was a sensation in 2017/2018 season. He carried the good form into 2018/2019 and that saw him win the Uefa Champions league trophy. He's one of the favourites to win it. However, Egypt ouster in the round of 16 at the hands of South Africa may hurt his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or. Nevertheless, he is still a contender.