Messi Ballon dor 2019: 3 reasons why Lionel Messi should win Ballon D’or ahead of Virgil Van Dijk

3. Virgil Van Dijk falling short on Messi’s achievements

If the award had been on the basis of performances in 2018/19 season the Van Dijk would have had a better claim than Messi on the award. But since the award is given on the basis of 2019.

Van Dijk in the last season was unplayable and even Messi failed to cross him in the two matches he played against him last season. The Dutch International has a record of more than 50 games where he has not been dribbled past.

Such exceptional performances by him made him the best defender in the world and propelled him to win UEFA Player of the year 2018/19 and PFA Player of the year.

But coming back to 2019 since summers, Van Dijk has seen a dip in form, he is just a few notches below to his last season performances and his team Liverpool are consistently conceding goals. This doesn’t mean he has become worse but he hasn’t been on par with Messi’s brilliance, which is giving an advantage to Messi.

Despite it, Van Dijk’s side is on a red hot form and winning matches, they are 10 points clear of the table, and on the verge of qualifying into the next round in the Champions League.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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