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The Ballon d’Or which was first received by Stanley Mathew in 1956 has been awarded to deserving individual players since its inception, but it won’t happen this year.
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This decision was taken by the L'Equipe Group, to which France Football magazine belongs and has organised the Ballon d'Or ceremony for the last 64 years.Pascal Ferre, the editor-in-chief, noted that this is as a consequence of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2019 winner of the award was Lionel Messi.
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"We believe that such a unique year cannot, and should not, be treated as an ordinary year," L'Equipe's statement read."
"In sporting terms, only two months [January and February] of the eleven generally required to form an opinion and decide between the best is too little to evaluate and judge".
"We don't love this choice, but it will help to protect the credibility and legitimacy of such an award."