In a shocking event that saw Barcelona star Lionel Messi declared winner of 2019 FIFA Men’s Player Award ahead of Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was widely expected that Van Dijk would win the crown, after his masterclass contributions helped Liverpool win their UEFA Champions League (UCL) last season.
Also tipped to win the award is Portuguese forward, Cristiano Ronaldo won the Italian Serie A, Italian Super Cup and the UEFA Nations League for Portugal and yet did not win the award
Fans fumed at the result, and believed the 32-year did not deserve to win this time around.
This year’s FIFA Best Award is a repeat of the 2010 FIFA Award, where Messi won the prize and did not deserve it.
In 2010, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez are the front runners to win the award, as Spain won their first World Cup in history with outstanding performances from Iniesta and Xavi.
However, Messi picked up the FIFA award that year to his own surprise, a similar occurrence this season with Liverpool and Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, robbed of the award.
The Dutch defender even proved to be the best player out of the two when Liverpool faced Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League. Football fans were expecting the defender to pick up the award, after winning the UEFA Champions League and UEFA’s MVP trophy as well.
Fans were expecting Virgil to become the first defender since Fabio Cannavaro to be recognized with this award.
During 2006, the Italian defender won the old FIFA Player of the Year Award. He also picked up the Ballon d’Or that year after winning the FIFA World Cup with Italy.
There had not been such a dominant defender since then, which made us believe Van Dijk actually had a chance.
Messi scored 51 goals in 53 matches and won two domestic titles (LaLiga and Copa del Ray) with Barcelona, but failed to perform when his club needed him the most, he lost the UEFA Champions League against Liverpool and could not deliver the Copa America with Argentina.
The only individual award he deserved this year is the Golden Boot Award, which is the one he earned after scoring 36 goals in the Spanish LaLiga.
The Best award should always go to the player who was part of the biggest collective triumphs during the year in review.
The Argentine didn’t win the most important award of the year with his club and country.
Paul Merson, a football analyst believes Van Dijk should have won the best men’s player accolade.
“Messi has done what he does every season; he has not taken Barcelona to another level and won them the Champions League. You win it because you have done something special, which Van Dijk has done.
“Messi won it because they started [the awards] in 2016, and for the first two years, Cristiano Ronaldo won it and last year, Luka Modric won it. Now they’ve got to give it to Messi.
“What does Van Dijk have to do? He took the Netherlands to the Nations League final and he’s taken Liverpool to another level. If the coach is getting the manager of the year, how is the player not getting the best player? It’s all about the moment and he should have won it.”
Virgil van Dijk is the best footballer in 2019; fans are of the opinion that FIFA voting system was biased as the ones who cast their votes are more inclined in picking Messi above anybody else.
Anthony Nlebem
