Ballon d'Or: 'Its A Shame He Finished In Fourth Place,' Lionel Messi Once Again Backs Liverpool's Sadio Mane

Lionel Messi has backed Sadio Mane as he said it was a "shame" to see the Liverpool forward finish in the fourth place.

Mane played a crucial role in Liverpool's Champions League title, which was their first since 2005. He also was a part of Senegal's team that finished as runner's up in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Out of the top 10 of the shortlisted candidates for the Ballon d'Or award, four belonged to Liverpool including Virgil van Dijk, who finished second ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mane in fourth, Mohamed Salah in fifth and goalkeeper Alisson Becker in the seventh place.

Messi, who won his first Ballon d'Or award in four years, clinched record sixth trophy and now has one more than his arch-rival, Ronaldo.

"It’s a shame to see Mane finish in fourth place. But I think there have been a lot of great players this year. That's why it was difficult to choose a particular player. But I chose Sadio Mane because he's a player that I like. Mane achieved a great year that was exceptional for the entire Liverpool team. That's why I chose him. I repeat, there were a lot of very great players this year, so the choice was difficult," Messi, who had also voted for Mane for the FIFA Best player, said in an interview recently.

The Ballon d'Or is an annual awards ceremony presented by France Football, which is decided by votes from journalists around the world, whereas FIFA's equivalent award is decided with just player input.

Five-time winner Ronaldo, who has featured on the Ballon d'Or podium each year since 2011, finished third in the vote. This was the first time since 2010 he's failed to break into the top two.