Liverpool star is hoping to win the Ballon d’Or.
Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk should not be compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
That is according to former Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart.
Van der Vaart told Tuttomercatoweb that he believes the Liverpool centre-back is a high quality player, but not superior to Messi and Ronaldo.
The former Tottenham attacker said: “He is not the best player in the world, but he is special.
“Messi and Ronaldo are the best but you cannot compare defenders and strikers.”
In one way he is right, in terms of statistics, you not measure who is superior, a player who prevents goals, or ones who score them, prolificly.
Messi took on Van Dijk when Barcelona faced Liverpool, with two very different outcomes.
The Argentine got the better of Van Dijk at the Nou Camp, before Van Dijk got the better of him at Anfield, and Liverpool won the semi-final tie.
Van Dijk is in contention to win the Ballon d’Or, BBC Sport report.
Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos supports his case, despite Ronaldo being a former teammate.
He was quoted by The Evening Standard: “If Van Dijk wins it, it will be on sufficient merit – great defender.”
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