The stage is set for the Ballon d'Or, one of the most prestigious football awards. The 2019 Ballon d'Or will be held at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris on Monday. The event is expected to begin by 5.30 pm GMT (11 pm IST).
Barcelona star Lionel Messi is favourite to win the Ballon d'Or this year. He had not featured in the top three in 2018, and came in second in the year before that. The winner will be decided by 180 journalists from around the world, as 30 men and 20 women compete for the coveted award.
However, a photo showing the 2019 Ballon d'Or winner along with the number of points after tallying of the votes is doing the rounds on social media and has gone viral. The results are not revealed before the ceremony.
The leaked photo showing the winner of the 2019 Ballon d'Or | via Twitter
In the photo, Messi is shown to be the winner of the 2019 Ballon d'Or, with 446 points. Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk is in second place with 382 points. Fellow Liverpool forward Moahmed Salah follow with 179 points. Five-time winner Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo is fourth with 133 votes, and making up the top five is Sadio Mane with 97 votes.
Liverpool's Alisson Becker is placed sixth in the list with 82 points ahead of PSG's Kylian Mbappe who has 55 points. Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is eighth with 30 points followed by Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt with 29 points and Real Madrid's Eden Hazard with 21 points.
The authenticity of the leaked photo is yet to be verified.
