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#1 Virgil Van Dijk has the best claim on the award
As stated in the previous slide, winning the Champions League is pretty important for being in contention for the Ballon d'Or. But that is not the only reason Van Djik has a better claim to the award. He has been a rock for Liverpool at the back and he has hardly put any foot wrong throughout the season.
Also, in hindsight, Liverpool have looked a better team than Barcelona and they challenged arguably the best team in the world for the Premier League title this season, Manchester City. As far as influence on a team goes, Van Dijk is level on that with Messi. The Netherlands international is the Reds' pivot at the back and his leadership qualities are known to everyone.
Defenders aren't favoured for the Ballon d'Or award but the performances Van Djik has put in this season have to be noted. He is arguably the current favourite to win the coveted trophy. Also, he led the Netherlands side to the UEFA Nations League finals, when no one expected them to even reach the semi-finals. All that makes the big Dutchman the #1 favourite for the Ballon d'Or.
