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.

The post 2020 Ballon d’Or to be Cancelled appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Real Madrid’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo is continuing his sweep of the most prestigious individual soccer awards in the world. After taking The Best FIFA Men’s Player award in October, Ronaldo has now won prestigious Ballon d’Or, given to the best soccer player in the world by France Football magazine. This is Ronaldo’s second consecutive and fifth overall Ballon d’Or, matching him with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as the most-awarded soccer player. He was the overall favorite for winning the award, especially after helping Real Madrid win La Liga, Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup trophies last year.
Ronaldo received the award at a ceremony held in Paris.

“I’m very happy. To get this prize in Paris is a great experience.” – said Ronaldo in his acceptance speech. “It’s marvelous. It’s a great moment of my career. It’s something I wish I have every year. We had a marvelous year. I was the [top] goal scorer of the Champions League, so I want to thank my teammates. They were important for me. And also thanks, everybody who helped me to be in great form during the season.“

Lionel Messi took the second place in the voting, while Paris Saint Germain’s Neymar finished in the third place. The voting for the award was conducted by a global panel of journalists. This was the seventh straight year that Ronaldo and Messi finish on one of the top two places in the voting. Also, the pair has won all the Ballon d’Or awards among themselves since 2007, when Kaka won the award.

You can check out the top 10 ranked players in the voting for Ballon d’Or below.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal)
2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)
3. Neymar (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil)
4. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus/Italy)
5. Luka Modric (Real Madrid/Croatia)
6. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid/Spain)
7. Kylian Mbappe (Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain/France)
8. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea/France)
9. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland)
10. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/England)

The post Cristiano Ronaldo Wins his Fifth Ballon d’Or appeared first on SportzBonanza.

On the even held in London, FIFA announced the finalist for The Best FIFA Football Awards. The winners will be revealed at the ceremony which will also take place in London on 23 October. FIFA introduced the award in 2016 when it cut ties with the France Football ‘s Ballon d’Or.

Last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo was joined by Lionel Messi and Neymar as the finalist for The Best FIFA Men’s Player. With another UEFA Champions League title in his resume alongside winning the Euro 2016, there is no doubt that Ronaldo is the firm favorite to take the award. Another last year’s winner, American Carli Lloyd of the Houston Dash is in the competition for The Best FIFA Women’s Player alongside Venezuela’s Deyna Castellanos and Netherlands’ Lieke Martens.This year, FIFA also decided to increase the number of awards and introduced The Best FIFA Goalkeeper Award with Gianluigi Buffon, Keylor Navas, and Manuel Neuer as finalists.

On the ceremony, the finalists for the FIFA Puskás Award, which is given to the player who scored the most beautiful goal in the past season, were revealed. You can check them all out in the video below and also vote for your favorite one.

Here are all the finalists in each category.

Men’s Player
Cristiano Ronaldo (POR / Real Madrid)
Lionel Messi (ARG – FC Barcelona)
Neymar (BRA – FC Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain)

Women’s Player
Deyna Castellanos (VEN – Santa Clarita Blue Heat/Florida State Seminoles)
Carli Lloyd (The USA – Houston Dash/Manchester City Women)
Lieke Martens (NED – FC Barcelona Femeni)

Men’s Coach
Massimiliano Allegri (ITA – Juventus)
Antonio Conte (ITA – Chelsea)
Zinedine Zidane (FRA – Real Madrid)

Women’s Coach
Nils Nielsen (DEN – Danish national team)
Gerard Precheur (FRA – Olympique Lyonnais Feminin)
Sarina Wiegman (NED – Netherlands national team)

Goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon (ITA – Juventus)
Keylor Navas (CRC – Real Madrid)
Manuel Neuer (GER – FC Bayern Munich)

Fan Award
Borussia Dortmund supporters
Celtic supporters
FC Copenhagen supporters

The post The Best FIFA Football Awards Finalists Revealed appeared first on SportzBonanza.

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.

The post 2020 Ballon d’Or to be Cancelled appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Real Madrid’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo is continuing his sweep of the most prestigious individual soccer awards in the world. After taking The Best FIFA Men’s Player award in October, Ronaldo has now won prestigious Ballon d’Or, given to the best soccer player in the world by France Football magazine. This is Ronaldo’s second consecutive and fifth overall Ballon d’Or, matching him with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as the most-awarded soccer player. He was the overall favorite for winning the award, especially after helping Real Madrid win La Liga, Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup trophies last year.
Ronaldo received the award at a ceremony held in Paris.

“I’m very happy. To get this prize in Paris is a great experience.” – said Ronaldo in his acceptance speech. “It’s marvelous. It’s a great moment of my career. It’s something I wish I have every year. We had a marvelous year. I was the [top] goal scorer of the Champions League, so I want to thank my teammates. They were important for me. And also thanks, everybody who helped me to be in great form during the season.“

Lionel Messi took the second place in the voting, while Paris Saint Germain’s Neymar finished in the third place. The voting for the award was conducted by a global panel of journalists. This was the seventh straight year that Ronaldo and Messi finish on one of the top two places in the voting. Also, the pair has won all the Ballon d’Or awards among themselves since 2007, when Kaka won the award.

You can check out the top 10 ranked players in the voting for Ballon d’Or below.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal)
2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)
3. Neymar (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil)
4. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus/Italy)
5. Luka Modric (Real Madrid/Croatia)
6. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid/Spain)
7. Kylian Mbappe (Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain/France)
8. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea/France)
9. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland)
10. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/England)

The post Cristiano Ronaldo Wins his Fifth Ballon d’Or appeared first on SportzBonanza.

On the even held in London, FIFA announced the finalist for The Best FIFA Football Awards. The winners will be revealed at the ceremony which will also take place in London on 23 October. FIFA introduced the award in 2016 when it cut ties with the France Football ‘s Ballon d’Or.

Last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo was joined by Lionel Messi and Neymar as the finalist for The Best FIFA Men’s Player. With another UEFA Champions League title in his resume alongside winning the Euro 2016, there is no doubt that Ronaldo is the firm favorite to take the award. Another last year’s winner, American Carli Lloyd of the Houston Dash is in the competition for The Best FIFA Women’s Player alongside Venezuela’s Deyna Castellanos and Netherlands’ Lieke Martens.This year, FIFA also decided to increase the number of awards and introduced The Best FIFA Goalkeeper Award with Gianluigi Buffon, Keylor Navas, and Manuel Neuer as finalists.

On the ceremony, the finalists for the FIFA Puskás Award, which is given to the player who scored the most beautiful goal in the past season, were revealed. You can check them all out in the video below and also vote for your favorite one.

Here are all the finalists in each category.

Men’s Player
Cristiano Ronaldo (POR / Real Madrid)
Lionel Messi (ARG – FC Barcelona)
Neymar (BRA – FC Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain)

Women’s Player
Deyna Castellanos (VEN – Santa Clarita Blue Heat/Florida State Seminoles)
Carli Lloyd (The USA – Houston Dash/Manchester City Women)
Lieke Martens (NED – FC Barcelona Femeni)

Men’s Coach
Massimiliano Allegri (ITA – Juventus)
Antonio Conte (ITA – Chelsea)
Zinedine Zidane (FRA – Real Madrid)

Women’s Coach
Nils Nielsen (DEN – Danish national team)
Gerard Precheur (FRA – Olympique Lyonnais Feminin)
Sarina Wiegman (NED – Netherlands national team)

Goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon (ITA – Juventus)
Keylor Navas (CRC – Real Madrid)
Manuel Neuer (GER – FC Bayern Munich)

Fan Award
Borussia Dortmund supporters
Celtic supporters
FC Copenhagen supporters

The post The Best FIFA Football Awards Finalists Revealed appeared first on SportzBonanza.