Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has stated that Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk should beat Barcelona captain Lionel Messi to Ballon d’Or glory for this year.
Van Dijk has had a phenomenal campaign with Liverpool last term, helping the Reds win the Champions League title back in June as well as finishing 2nd on the Premier League table with a record 97 points for the club ever since it was formed back in 1892.
The Reds narrowly missed out on last season’s Premier League title by just one solitary point but are heading the chase for domestic glory in England this term after an unbeaten start to the new campaign.
Klopp has admitted that he can see why La Blaugrana superstar Lionel Messi would be a popular choice for the individual honor, because of his career accomplishments but rather than give a sixth Ballon d’Or to the Argentine, Klopp believes there is a strong case for Liverpool’s 28-year-old colossus to walk away with the trophy at the award ceremony in Paris on December 2nd.
Real Madrid’s Croatian playmaker Luka Modric was last year’s winner of the prize which is annually awarded by France Football magazine, and the Croatian won the Ballon d’Or due for his achievements with Real Madrid as well as the national team.
And speaking out on Van Dijk, the 52-year-old German boss explained his logic for winning the prestigious honor, “If you give the Ballon d’Or to the best player of this generation, then you can give it always to Lionel Messi, that’s how it is. But if you give it to the best player of last season, then it was Virgil van Dijk So I don’t know exactly how it will work, but that’s how I see it. If it’s for the best player of all, then it’s Lionel. The best player of last season, it’s Virgil. We will see.”
Van Dijk has also helped the Netherlands qualify for the Euro 2020 and has been a pivotal part of Liverpool’s success since his arrival at Anfield.
