Paul Merson has hit out at the decision to award Lionel Messi the FIFA Best Men’s Player award over Virgil Van Dijk.
The Liverpool defender was hotly tipped for the honour after a standout season for the Reds, but was beaten to the accolade by the Barcelona dazzler.
And Merson wasn’t best pleased with the announcement.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Debate, he said: “It’s a joke, sorry. It’s a joke.
“He’s just done what he does every season. He didn’t take them to another level, he didn’t go and win a Champions League.
“You win it because you’ve done something special. Van Dijk has done something special.”
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OPINION
You can understand where Merson is coming from, and you will struggle to find many, if any, Liverpool fans who would have picked Messi over Van Dijk for the award, but it seems harsh to punish Messi for his consistency. The Sky Sports man is essentially saying that because the Argentine didn’t raise his game, he shouldn’t be rewarded, but the counterargument would be that it’s hard to raise your game when you’re at the very top. 36 goals and 13 assists in 34 La Liga appearances last term is nothing short of incredible, as is an average of 3.9 successful dribbles, as per Whoscored. Van Dijk had a remarkable season in his own right, of course, but rightly or wrongly, attacking players will always garner more attention. Indeed, the fact that Van Dijk was being spoken about as a potential winner at all is a massive testament to how well he performed last term. And when all is said and done, the Dutchman may not have an individual gong, but he still has a Champions League winner’s medal.
