Lionel Messi: Virgil Van Dijk believes that Lionel Messi should win the prestigious Ballon D’or award despite winning the Champions league.
Virgil Van Dijk had one of the heroic campaigns for Liverpool, as he stood tall every time to lead the Reds towards the highest European prize.
Many have opined that the Dutch International should be given the Ballon D’or award after his sensational performances throughout the season. The player has already won PFA player of the year award for his exhibits in the Premier league.
However, in an interaction after Liverpool’s victory against Tottenham, Van Dijk in his post-match statement stated that he thinks, he should not win the award, instead Lionel Messi should be awarded.
“I think Messi is the best player in the world,” Van Dijk said after Saturday’s win. “He should win the Ballon D’Or. So I’m not thinking of that.
“But if I win, I’ll take it. Messi should win it though. He is the best in the world, whether he’s in the final or not.” he further said.
Despite keeping Messi silent in the 2nd leg of the Semi-final against Barcelona, Van Dijk has not change his opinions on the abilities of the Argentine International.
On the other, the Barcelona forward also had a phenomenal season individually, as he became the top-scorer of Europe this season once again and lifted La Liga trophy.
However, things went downhill for Lionel Messi as his side lost to Liverpool on aggregate by 4-3, even though they had a significant lead of 3-0 in the first leg.
Thus, realistically it seems that Van Dijk is much stronger contender to win the prestigious individual award ahead of the other football players in contention.
How twitter reacted
https://twitter.com/LeooMessi10i/status/1134968582067109888
https://twitter.com/TheEuropeanLad/status/1134952938516963330
In the last 455 days, Virgil van Dijk has faced Messi, Ronaldo, Hazard, Suarez, Sterling, Dembele, Benzema, Bale, Modric, Neymar, Mbappe, De Bruyne, Insigne, Coutinho, Kane and Son.
Not a single opponent has dribbled past him.
64 appearances and counting. 👑 pic.twitter.com/aoygOOY2zg
— bet365 (@bet365) June 1, 2019
https://twitter.com/dphdofficial/status/1134957134964285440
Even though he had a relatively quiet final, Virgil Van Dijk has his Champions League title.
Does that mean he's now a genuine threat of winning the Ballon d'Or ahead of Lionel Messi?
The last 5 Ballon d'Or winners have also won the Champions League. #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/eXn2sFy77h
— JAKE BUCKLEY 🇦🇺 (@TheMasterBucks) June 1, 2019
Messi is the best player in the world. But @VirgilvDijk should be a very serious candidate for the Ballon D'Or.
@ViasportFotball pic.twitter.com/GHCIOsBW2a— Jan Aage Fjørtoft 🇳🇴 (@JanAageFjortoft) June 2, 2019
.@VirgilvDijk has his candidate for #BallonDOr 👏 #VanDijk #Messi pic.twitter.com/YVSJNxPXo9
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) June 2, 2019
In The World Of Messi and Ronaldo
Be Someone's Van Dijk❤ pic.twitter.com/2WGQ4TLneF— Ujwal Nayak (@DazzlerDiaz23) June 1, 2019
https://twitter.com/Iam_Benjani/status/1134943219677061120
https://twitter.com/NumeroSie7e/status/1134926263821279232
What’s next?
Liverpool have ended their campaign with the highest prize possible. Further, the Reds will prepare for next season while making suitable signings during the transfer window.
