Lionel Messi was full of praise for Sadio Mane after winning the Ballon d’Or this week (Getty)

Lionel Messi admits it’s ‘a shame’ to see Liverpool forward Sadio Mane finish fourth in the Ballon d’Or rankings for 2019.

Mane has been a pivotal figure in Liverpool’s attack this year, helping the club win the Champions League and playing a key role in the team’s Premier League title push.

Mane also scored three goals at the Africa Cup of Nations this summer but his Senegal side were beaten by Algeria in the final.

Messi voted for Mane to win the FIFA The Best award earlier this year, although it was Barcelona’s talisman who ended up winning the prize.




And the Argentine was full of praise for the Liverpool forward after he won a record sixth Ballon d’Or trophy earlier this week.

‘It’s a shame to see Mane finish in fourth place,’ Messi told Canal+.

Sadio Mane has been a key part of Liverpool’s attack this year (Getty Images)

‘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.

BALLON D'OR RANKING 2019 1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

2. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

4. Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

6. Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

7. Alisson Becker (Liverpool)

8. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

9. Bernardo Silva (Man City)

10. Riyad Mahrez (Man City)

11. Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona)

12. Raheem Sterling (Man City)

13. Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)

14. Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)

15. Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus)

16. Sergio Aguero (Man City)

17. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)

18. Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona)

19. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

20. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)

=20. Dusan Tadic (Ajax)

22. Heung-Min Son (Tottenham)

23. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)

24. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona)

=24. Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)

26. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

=26. Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool)

28. Donny van de Beek (Ajax)

=28. Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid)

=28 Marquinhos (PSG)

‘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.’