Van Dijk just misses out on Ballon d'Or win!

Van Dijk just missed out on winning the Ballon d'Or 2019 trophy after Leo Messi snatched it from him for a sixth time in his career.

He is an extremely talented and reliable centre back and his signing from Southampton in 2018 significantly improved their defensive problems the previous year. He has been described as a "machine" and the "best centre-half in the world" by former Liverpool striker Michael Owen, but he is not the only person to publicly praise the Dutchman. 

In addition, he was key to Liverpool's Premier League title challenge in the 2018-19 season which saw them miss out on the domestic title by one point despite getting 97 points and losing just one game. In addition, so far this season, Liverpool are top of the league and 11 points clear of Man City with their defensive solidity being a major factor.

According to 'The Athletic', in the 64 games before Van Dijk joined Liverpool, the Reds had conceded 1.1 goals per game whereas since then it is 0.7 while Klopp's men's win percentage has gone from 56.3 to 75%. 

Finally, he has helped Holland qualify for Euro 2020, the 'Oranje's first major tournament for six years after missing out on Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup. That was despite having to face the likes of Germany and Northern Ireland and they did not even need the play-offs to qualify. As well as putting in fantastic defensive displays, he managed to score in Holland's 4-0 victory over Belarus. 

The award, presented by France Football, has heavily favoured the forwards in recent years so the fact that Van Dijk has just missed out to Messi, who has won the award six times, should be somewhat of a consolation to him!