Goal have released this year’s edition of the Goal50, and as you may imagine, there are a few Liverpool players on this list.
The Reds came within a whisker of winning the quadruple in 2022, and their players deserve all the credit in the world for their performances over the past 12 months.
The likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz all made this list after making a real impact with the Reds, but perhaps the most interesting ranking here is that of Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutch defender ranked as the 19th best player in the world this year, and interestingly, that is one spot higher than reported Liverpool target, Jude Bellingham.
Bellingham was ranked as the 20th best footballer on the planet, and while that’s not as high as van Dijk, the fact that he’s even close to the Dutchman speaks volumes about his ability.
Bellingham may only be 19, but he’s already being placed alongside some of football’s true immortals.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that van Dijk is genuinely one of the best centre-backs of all-time, and Bellingham is now right behind him in a list of the world’s greatest players.
Of course, it’s incredibly early to stay it, but at the age of just 19, it’s not ridiculous to envisage Bellingham one day topping this list.
Where he’ll be playing when that time comes remains to be seen. The strongest links as of late have been to Liverpool, but, as many will know, almost every top club in Europe has been linked with the England international at this point.
Bellingham may be ranking just behind van Dijk right now, but he could overtake him next year, especially if they’re teammates at Anfield.
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