Virgil van Dijk beats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to UEFA Men's Player of the Year after a stellar year at Liverpool.
The Dutch international beat off competition from three-time UEFA Men's Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and two-time winner Lionel Messi. The 28-year-old centre-back received the trophy on stage in Monaco during the UEFA Champions League group stage draw.
The top ten
1 Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands – 305 points
2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina) – 207 points
3 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus & Portugal) – 74 points
4 Alisson Becker (Liverpool) – 57 points
5 Sadio Mané (Liverpool & Senegal) – 51 points
6 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt) – 49 points
7 Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Real Madrid & Belgium) – 38 points
8= Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax/Juventus & Netherlands) – 27 points
8= Frenkie de Jong (Ajax/Barcelona & Netherlands) – 27 points
10 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City & England) – 12 points
Season in numbers
Honours: UEFA Champions League winner, UEFA Nations League runner-up, English Premier League runner-up, PFA Players' Player of the Year.
UEFA Champions League
Appearances: 12
Goals: 2
Assists: 2
Domestic league
Appearances: 38
Goals: 4
Assists: 2
Roll of honour
2018/19 – Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands)
2017/18 ─ Luka Modrić (Real Madrid & Croatia)
2016/17 ─ Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)
2015/16 ─ Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)
2014/15 ─ Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)
2013/14 ─ Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)
2012/13 ─ Franck Ribéry (Bayern & France)
2011/12 ─ Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona & Spain)
2010/11 ─ Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)