Are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo punished for the high-flying level they have set in football?
This was the talk in the town after Liverpool’s central back Virgil Van Dijk was awarded UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, beating Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the award.
The award tops the brilliant season for the Dutch, who was also named the PFA Player of the Year for his fantastic display at the heart of the Reds defense, which conceded only 22 goals in the Premier League and went ahead to lift their sixth European trophy, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in final in Madrid.
Ronaldo failed to steer Juventus to Champions League glory after being eliminated in the quarter-finals by Ajax FC. He, however, won the Serie A and the UEFA Nations League Cup, beating Netherlands 1-0 in the final at Estadio do Dragao.
Messi, on the other hand, helped Barcelona to lift the La Liga title. Though his side was eliminated in the Champions League semi-final by Liverpool and lost the Copa del Rey Cup after succumbing to a 2-1 defeat to Valencia. His national team was also bundled out of the Copa America tournament by Brazil in the semi-finals.
And Thursday’s award could, therefore, mean that winning the Champions League means everything.
Here are the results that lifted Van Dijk ahead of Messi and Ronaldo;
UEFA Player of the Year votes:
1. Virgil van Dijk – 305 points
2. Leo Messi – 207 points
3. Cristiano Ronaldo – 74 points
4. Alisson – 57 points
5. Sadio Mané – 51 points
6. Mohamed Salah – 49 pointsMore proof that winning the Champions League means everything these days.
— AFC Ajax 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) August 29, 2019
Check out what fans had to say after the award;
100 points diff….. i always felt vvd was gonna win it. But with a low Margin, like 25-30 points. This is shameless.
— D10 (@Don10Lio) August 29, 2019
Also funny people use Anfield game against leo but they doesnt mention van dijks team bottled a 10 (?) point lead in the league. Thats worse….
— D10 (@Don10Lio) August 29, 2019
Messi could have scores 100 goals last season and he still wouldn’t have won it. Also mad how Messi created big chances for Dembele, Coutinho, Suarez and Alba if just one of them gets scored Van Dijk doesn’t even enter the conversation.
— Dale Anders (@DaleAndersFCB10) August 29, 2019
Lol I thought it was only champions performance
My bad— Sant (@novakismo) August 29, 2019
Or, perhaps, because he was simply most deserving of the award.
— Inconvenient Truth (@ITruth98) August 29, 2019
Based on impact. Just so we’re all clear, I do believe Leo is the best player in the world but Virgil was a very deserving winner too. Of course I think Leo should’ve won, but to tell me he’s no different than the other Liverpool players… lol.
— Belkace (@Belkace_RM) August 29, 2019
Hmm.
So van Dijk performed better than messi— Dennis moore (@Dennismooregh) August 29, 2019
Imagine having these two to choose from and you choose the third option pic.twitter.com/lVx8ZbHImv
— mø (@EriksenSensei) August 29, 2019
Winning trophies doesn't make you a better player. Is Dani Alves the greatest player to play the game?
— 6️⃣ (@PrimeSadio) August 29, 2019
Virgil van Dijk has become the first defender, the first Premier League player, and the first Dutchman to win the prestigious UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award.