No Ballon d'Or winner in 2020

2020 will go down in history as a different year and that is certainly the case for the Ballon d'Or award which will not have a winner this year following an announcement by the French newspaper L'Equipe, the organiser of the most prestigious individual award in world football. 

The organisation considers that football only took place in normal circumstances in January and February and that subsequently the conditions to decide the best player in the world for 2020 have been different for everyone as some leagues have been suspended longer than others and in some cases, cancelled before reaching their conclusion as is the case in France and Ligue 1. 

As such, Leo Messi, for the time being, will not have the chance to add a seventh award to his list of honours. The Argentine, winner of the 2019/20 pichichi award in La Liga, is the only player to have won the prize on six different occasions over the last decade, receiving the award most recently in December of last year in Paris. 

All time best XI 

Despite the lack of a Ballon d'Or winner for 2020, l'Equipe has announced that it will put together an all time best XI, chosen by the 180 members of the jury. The make up of the team will be announced at the end of the year with Barça sure to have several candidates amongst the names put forward for the all time 'dream team'.