Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award on Thursday, taking the prize over Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo.
The award was handed to Netherlands captain at the end of the UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony, held in Monaco.
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Van Dijk made his first appearance on the final three after helping Liverpool win the Champions League title last season. Ronaldo, a three-time winner, has been ever-present since the award was created in 2011.
Two-time award winner Messi was the leading scorer in both La Liga (36 goals) and the Champions League (12 goals) last season but his Barcelona side fell in the semifinal stage to Liverpool, who overcame a three-goal deficit in the second leg to advance.
Van Dijk was voted both the Premier League Player of the Season and the Players’ Player of the Year, and was instrumental in Liverpool’s sixth European Cup triumph.
He was also awarded the best defender award of the Champions League, with teammate Alisson Becker given the goalkeeper prize. Messi won forward of the year, and Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong took the midfielder award after leading Ajax to the Champions League semifinal round last season.
Manchester United legend Eric Cantona was one of the highlights of the event for his interesting speech after he was given the UEFA President’s Award.