Ballon d’Or Night: Lionel Messi Or Virgil van Dijk?
The 2019 Ballon d’Or winner will be revealed tonight, December 2 in a ceremony set to take place tonight from approximately 7:30pm GMT at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris with front runners Virgil van Dijk and Lionel Messi both eyeing the biggest individual prize in football after breathtaking individual performances for club and country.
A 30-man shortlist was revealed in October, featuring a host of Premier League stars as well as some of the biggest names from around the world of football.
Luka Modric was the winner last year to become the first person in a decade other than Messi or Ronaldo to be recognised as the world’s best player but, with the Real Madrid man not in contention this time, it looks set to be an intriguing battle for the coveted award.
Van Dijk was crowned Uefa Player of the Year in August, with Messi named Fifa’s The Best Men’s Player the following month.
Cristiano Ronaldo is odds on favourite to claim the award having claimed the Seria A title with Juventus and the Nations League with Portugal.
Klopp is a massive fan of the Argentine but believes Van Dijk has performed better over the past year and deserves to win the award.
“If you give the Ballon d’Or to the best player of this generation then you should 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. I don’t know exactly how it will work but that is how I see it.
“The best player of all? That’s Lionel. Best player of last season? That’s Virgil.” Klopp said.
By Gerald Dandah
