Argentine star Lionel Messi received the first congratulations for being crowned with the Ballon d'Or, but the congratulations came more than 24 hours before the award winner was announced.
On Monday evening, football fans turned to the French capital, Paris, which will host the Ballon d'Or award ceremony, awarded by France Football magazine.
Before the ceremony, former France captain Patrice Evra anticipated the event, and posted on his Instagram account a congratulations to Messi, saying, "Congratulations to Lionel Messi for winning the Ballon d'Or again."
The congratulations came to increase speculation about Messi winning the Ballon d'Or for the seventh time in his history, a record.
It is reported that Evra was among the opponents of awarding the Ballon d'Or to Messi, and he said in televised statements a few weeks ago, "I'm tired of giving it to Messi, what did he do last season? Yes, he won the Copa America with Argentina, but what did he do with Barcelona?"
The former Manchester United defender added: "In my opinion, this Ballon d'Or should be awarded to either Kante or Jorginho, they deserve it. I don't understand why people say Jorginho is just a midfielder, he won everything. In my opinion it would be unfair if he didn't win it." .