Paul Merson revealed that he will be stunned if Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is able to up his game further as that would mean he’ll be the “best ever.”
The pundit was shocked that the Reds centre-back wasn’t named Best FIFA Player of the Year on Monday, with that accolade instead going to Barcelona playmaker Lionel Messi.
Laura Woods asked Merson whether Van Dijk could win the accolade next year and the pundit seemed to throw doubt on that by questioning whether the centre-back could get any better.
“Erm, it’ll be hard for him to win it, after what he has done…can he go to another level?” said Merson on Sky Sports’ The Debate (Sky Sports Premier League, 22:56).
“Can he play any better? The lad for me is at his peak if he has got any more gears (Darren Bent says wow) he’s going to be the best ever.
“So it’s all about the moment, about now, he should have won this.
“If he wins the Premier League and not the Champions League this season…it’s FIFA, they’re not worried about our league.”
OPINION
Merson was agitated that Messi piped Van Dijk to the post, and you can see why he wasn’t convinced the Reds centre-back would end up being named FIFA Player of the Year in 2020. The pundit clearly believes the centre-back played at his maximum level last season and if he can’t win the accolade at the peak of his powers after winning the Champions League, then perhaps FIFA are never going to give him the edge over the likes of Messi or Ronaldo. Van Dijk played 38 times for the Reds in the Premier League last season, scoring four goals, racking up four Man of the Match awards and impressively winning 4.8 aerial duels to be a force at the back (Source: WhoScored). The 28-year-old also impressed in the Champions League last season as he averaged a rating of 7.08 in order to do his part to help Jurgen Klopp’s side lift the trophy. Also if his performances for Liverpool weren’t enough, Van Dijk impressed for the Netherlands during the Nations League. The centre-back averaged 4.8 interceptions, 0.5 tackles, one interception per game and maintained a rating of 7.30 across the six appearances he made in the international tournament, so what more can he do in order to be named FIFA’s Player of the Year (Source: WhoScored).
