2019 is coming to an end, what will suddenly appear in your mind when you think of the past year? Messi's 6th Ballon d'Or? Liverpool's European glory? Historic comebacks in Champions League? Or Sala plane crash? Let's review what happened in the football world this year in pictures.
Mes-SIX
Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi claimed a record sixth Ballon d'Or in Paris on December 2, 2019, ahead of Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk, Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool's Sadio Mane.
R.I.P
Emiliano Sala, 28
The Argentine footballer was killed on January 21 when the plane he was in crashed into the English Channel. He was on his way to join Cardiff after they agreed on a club record 17 million-euro transfer fee with Nantes.
Xana, 9
On June 19 Spain head coach Luis Enrique tendered his resignation from the job in which he thanked the federation, players, staff and the media without going into any detail about the matter at hand.
On August 29, he confirmed his nine-year-old daughter Xana's death, saying she had fought osteosarcoma - or bone cancer - for "five intense months".
Antonio Reyes, 35
The former Spain international was killed in a car crash on June 1 on the main road from Sevilla to Utrera with age of 35. He was part of Arsenal's unbeaten 'Invincibles' who won the 2003-04 Premier League title. He later had spells at Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.
See you again
Zinedine Zidane
Real Madrid officially confirmed that French coach and club legend Zinedine Zidane has returned to the club after Solari being sacked on March 11.
Jose Mourinho
The Special One is back!
Jose Mourinho has been appointed Tottenham manager after the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday. Former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Mourinho has signed a contract until the end of the 2022-23 season.
Write the history
Liverpool's dramatic comeback against Barcelona last season has gone down as one of the most memorable games in recent history. Trent Alexander-Arnold's quick corner will be remembered for decades to come.
Ronaldo couldn't help but get a jab in at Simeone following the Juventus star's sensational hat-trick on Match 12. He scored three times to help Juve to a 3-0 win on the night, reaching UCL quarter-finals.
Atletico won the first leg 2-0 on February 20, a game in which Simeone punctuated his side's opening goal with a gesture that UEFA deemed to have crossed the line.
Unexpected
UCL final between Liverpool and Tottenham was briefly halted by a pitch invader in the first half. Kinsey Wolanski, the scantily-clad Russian model sprinted across the pitch and reached the halfway line before being tracked down by chasing stewards and hauled off the pitch. After that, her Instagram grew by two million followers.
The Serie A clash between Sassuolo and Inter Milan had an unexpected guest as a man parachuted onto the pitch toward to the end of the first half, leaving players, fans and officials were stunned.
A year to forget
This is a year to forget for Neymar. The Brazilian star can't run away from the curse of injury and he just played 19 games for PSG in the whole year. Before the Copa America, Neymar suffered an ankle injury again in the friendly against Qatar just after getting recovery, which enforced him say bye to the campaign and witness his teammates lift the cup as a spectator.
Collides
Messi was controversially sent off in Argentina's Copa America 2019 third-place play-off victory against Chile in July following a heated confrontation with Gary Medel. It was his first time seeing red in 14 years and his second red card of career.
Sarri and Kepa were involved in a bizarre row as the keeper REFUSED to be substituted during Chelsea's EFL final defeat to Man City.
The keeper wasn't for coming off after clash edged towards penalties and ignored repeated calls to leave pitch despite Caballero being stripped and ready to come on. Then Sarri stormed off towards the tunnel.
Arsenal fans cheered when their former captain was substituted during the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, before booing him off the pitch. Xhaka responded by cupping his ear towards them and tearing off his shirt.
Greatness
Messi and Ronaldo, the two best players in the world right now, had a good conversation in FIFA The Best gala. Ronaldo even said they will have dinner in the future.
Tears
Tottenham came from 2-0 down and 3-0 on aggregate to sensationally beat Ajax in UCL semi-final on May 8, and Pochettino could not contain his emotion and cried on the pitch after the final whistle.
Heung-min Son was devastated and burst into tears as he was shown a red card for a tackle on Andre Gomes that resulted in a sickening injury for the Everton midfielder in the 1-1 draw.
Kick it out!!!
In this year, racism is getting worse in the football world. Sterling, Pogba, Rudiger, Rashford, Abraham and Balotelli... Many players suffered racist abuse on the pitch and we need stronger and harsher measures to tackle it out.
Best wishes
Schweinsteiger, Van Persie, Sneijder, Eto'o, Torres, Robben, Xavi, Evra, Cech... Many legends announced their retirement from professional football this year.