FIFA announces reasons why balon d'Or won't be awarded to any player this year

• 13:51, 20 JUL 2020

There will be no Ballon d'Or awards ceremony this year due to coronavirus

"Finally, the equity that prevails for this honorary title will not be warranted, especially when it comes to accounting and preparation: all the award seekers will not be in the same boat, some having seen their season cut short. Therefore, how can we establish a fair comparison? To avoid overly convoluted calculations and projections, we chose the least bad of the options

Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk was runner-up to the Argentine with Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah making up the top five.

Meanwhile, Van Dijk's Liverpool team-mate Alisson won the inaugural Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper, ahead of Barca's Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Manchester City No France Football and organizer Group L’Équipe announced this year's cancellation in a statement on Monday.

"For the first time since 1956, the Ballon d’Or will take a break, there will be no edition in 2020, because it turns out, after thoughtful consideration, that all the conditions are not met. We believe that such a singular year cannot -and should not- be treated as an ordinary one," editor-in-chief of France Football Pascal Ferre said in a statement.

The group went on to say that the decision "does not delight us” but is the “most responsible one.

Instead of awarding the usual individual trophies this year, a "Dream Team" of 11 players will be announced at the end of the year, chosen by the usual Ballon d'Or jury.

Messi, 33, has the most Ballon d’Or wins with six, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo at five. They are tied with the most nominations at 12 each.

The Ballon d'Or Feminin was conceived in 2018 for the best female player of the year. Norway's Ada Hegerberg won the first award, followed by Rapinoe, 35, last year.