France Football, the group which organizes and awards the prestigious Ballon d’Or prize for the top soccer player in the world, has decided that it will not award a trophy for the first time in its long history.
Since 1956, the Ballon d’Or has been awarded to the top player in the world according to the organization’s decision. Considered the most prestigious individual prize in the sport, it has been won by legends such as Lionel Messi, Franz Beckenbauer, and Ronaldo.
Messi, the reigning title-winner, will have to look to 2021 to win another trophy due to the “exceptional circumstances” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced France Football to call off this year’s prize.
The organization simply felt that, due to the long break experienced from March to May in the sport, that it would have been impossible to make a fair decision as to who had been the best player in the world.
Some of the favorites for the award had included Messi, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Instead, the world’s biggest starts will have to instead wait for next summer in order to see who the world’s best player is after an unprecedented and abnormal 2020.
