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What is the story?
According to former Manchester United and Real Madrid manager José Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo's elimination from the Champions League made it clear that Lionel Messi has a huge advantage in the 2019 Ballon d'Or race.
In case you didn’t know….
Lionel Messi was once again at his obvious best against Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. He scored twice and played a crucial role in the third goal to inspire Barcelona’s 3-0 thumping win over the Red Devils.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo and Juventus have crashed out of the Champions League after their 2-3 aggregate loss over two legs at the hands of giant-killing Eredivisie side, Ajax.
As the Champions League is coming to its business end, we now have a more crystal-clear idea about who will win this year's Ballon d’Or accolade.
Messi has already netted 45 times this season and is leading Barcelona in their mission to claim a historic third treble in the last decade.
On the other hand, Ronaldo, with 26 goals this season, has failed to keep Juventus in the hunt to lift this year’s Champions League trophy and now has only the Serie A title to fight for.
The heart of the matter…
In a recent interview with Russia Today, Mourinho opened up about this year's Ballon d’Or race. As quoted by Marca, the Portuguese said:
"Messi is having a phenomenal season and, with Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo out of this fight, he knows that the Ballon d'Or is there waiting for him,”
When asked to choose between Barcelona or Liverpool to qualify for the finals, Mourinho was a little bit diplomatic in his answer.
"I would say Barcelona are a bit more of a favourite than Liverpool, but I also think it's 50-50," he added.
What’s Next?
Messi is expected to feature in Barcelona’s next game against Real Sociedad on Saturday night in the La Liga as the Catalan giants aim to move a step closer to sealing the title once again this season.
