Ballon d'Or

No Ballon d'Or award to be presented in 2020

The pandemic around the world has fractured footballing schedules in every major league

1:27pm on Monday 20th July 2020
By Martin Macdonald

The prestigious Ballon d’Or award will not be presented to the world’s best player in 2020, the organisers of the ceremony have announced.

Every year the award is given to the best or most influential player of the past year, with recent winners including the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Luka Modric.

However, due to the ongoing pandemic which has seen unprecedented levels of schedule restructuring, curator France Football has decided to cancel the presentation of the award this year.

Le Ballon d'Or, trophée individuel le plus prestigieux au monde, créé en 1956 par le magazine France Football, n'aura pas de lauréat cette année en raison de la crise sanitaire https://t.co/z63n2FLNQu pic.twitter.com/BUHVVuiV6G
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) July 20, 2020

"We believe that such a unique year cannot, and should not, be treated as an ordinary year," editor-in-chief Pascal Ferre explained in a statement.

“It is far too little to gauge and judge, given that the other matches took place - or will take place - in other conditions (five replacements, European last eight in a single match) which are too far from the usual.

“We aim to protect the credibility and legitimacy of such an award."

In last year’s ceremony, Messi won the male Ballon d’Or, Megan Rapinoe the female, while Matthijs de Ligt won the Kopa Trophy for the best u21 player and Alisson the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper.