The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2019: Ranking the top 3 contenders
The Best FIFA Football Awards are back and the competition remains as keen as ever. FIFA, on Wednesday, announced a 10-man shortlist for this year’s award.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard have all made the cut, while Lionel Messi, Virgil Van Dijk, Sadio Mane and Frenkie de Jong are also in the hunt after enjoying fruitful campaigns last season.
However, there are a couple of names that surprisingly failed to make the cut. Alisson Becker, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva will feel hard done by, especially considering their outstanding performances in the last 12 months.
As we draw ever so closer to the date of the announcement, we take a look at the top three contenders for the 2019 Best Men’s Player:
#3 Virgil Van Dijk
Van Dijk’s role in Liverpool’s Champions League triumph cannot be overstated. Not only did the Dutchman win Europe’s most prestigious club trophy, he totally bossed the competition.
Some may argue that Lionel Messi was the best player in the Champions League since he finished as the competition’s top scorer. However, the fact is that whatever the Argentine achieved in attack, van Dijk did twice as much in defence.
The Liverpool center-back was the only player not to have been dribbled past over the course of the 2018/19 season (in club competitions) and he helped the Reds keep many clean sheets on the way. Goals might give other attackers an advantage, but clean sheets increase van Dijk’s chances of winning the Best FIFA Men’s Player.
He led Liverpool to Europe’s flagship trophy and also captained the Netherlands to the final of the UEFA Nations League. The Liverpool defender has done enough more than enough to merit his spot on this list.