Lionel Messi won the 2019 Ballon d'Or, beating rivals Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Barcelona star won a record sixth Ballon d'Or trophy of his career, going past Ronaldo, who has won five. Van Dijk, who won the UEFA Player of the Year earlier this year, finished second in the voting.
Ronaldo was absent during the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris, as he was in Milan where he was voted the Player of the Year in Serie A.
When asked about Ronaldo's absence in Paris, van Dijk jokingly said, "Why, was he a candidate?"
While the Dutch defender clarified that it was a joke, following criticism from fans for the remark, Cristiano Ronaldo's sister Katia Aveiro wrote an Instagram rant criticizing the Liverpool defender.
"Dear Virgil, from where you are now, Ronaldo has come and gone one thousand times," she wrote.
"Cristiano was three-times league champion in that country where you have played for years and still haven't put your hands on 'the tin'," she further wrote, referring to the three Premier League titles Ronaldo won during his time in England with Manchester United.
She continued to write in support of his brother, listing his achievements before finally challenging van Dijk to 'win some of those titles'.
"Now, Virgil, go and win some of those titles that really matter and we will talk again. When you have a hand full of them, maybe you can sit at the same table as Cristiano," she wrote.
