Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp says Virgil Van Dijk will win this year's Ballon D'Or's trophy over Lionel Messi. Both Barcelona captain Lionel Messi and Liverpool star defender Virgil van Dijk are listed on the 30-man shortlist in October. But, Klopp believes Van Dijk has done enough this year to win the 2019 edition of the prestigious award.
Other Liverpool players included in the Ballon D'Or list includes Sadio Mane, Alisson Georgino Wijnaldum, Mohamed Salah, and Roberto Firmino. According to the Liverpool boss, if you want to give the award for the best player of this generation, then the award should be rendered to Lionel Messi. However, Klopp believes that if the award is for the best player of the previous season, then it should be given to Virgil Van Dijk.
The German coach admits that he has no idea how exactly the award works and claims that his statement is solely based on his observation. Klopp also says that Lionel Messi is definitely the best player of all. The awarding ceremony happens on Dec. 2, and Liverpool star defender Virgil Van Dijk is the odds-on favorite to bring home the bacon.
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi is the second odds-on favorite while Juventus captain Cristiano Ronaldo is a distant third. This summer, Van Dijk beat Messi to the UEFA Men's Player of the Year. The Dutch centre-back helped the Reds win the UEFA Champions League and concluded Premier League season 2018-2019 on 97 points shipping 22 goals, creating the best defensive record in the division.
Lionel Messi was awarded the FIFA's Best Men's Player in September. The Barcelona captain carried Barca to its eighth La Liga title in 11 years as well as to the semis of the Champions League and the final of the Copa del Rey. Messi finished third with Argentina in the international stage with Copa America while the Dutch footballer's Netherlands was beaten by Portugal in the UEFA Nations League finals.
Best player of his generation? Messi
Best player of last season? Van Dijk Klopp has his say on the Ballon d'Or pic.twitter.com/zew5nxyfIJ — Goal (@goal) November 25, 2019
Considering that Lionel Messi is a forward and Virgil van Dijk is a defender, it is tough to judge both players against one another. Ballon D'Or usually goes for attacking players. So far, it has not been won by a defender since 2006 through Fabio Cannavaro, which suggests that Lionel Messi has the advantage. However, it is hard to discount Virgil van Dijk's performance, which had the strongest since the Italian's win.
