Virgil van Dijk paid tribute to his Liverpool teammates after beating Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been named UEFA Men's Player of the Year, beating Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the award. Becoming the first Netherland Player to claim the award. It was a fantastic season for the Netherlands international, who was voted PFA Player of the Year for his classic performance at the heart of a Liverpool defence which conceded just 22 goals in the Premier League and also ended the campaign with a sixth European Cup, after seeing off Tottenham 2-0 in the final in Madrid, prior to their historical comeback against Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Van Dijk's Liverpool team-mate Alisson also honoured, he was named Champions League Goalkeeper of the Seasoqn at Thursday's Champions League draw ceremony.
Image:Alisson won the UEFA Champions League goalkeeper of the year
Frenkie de Jong won the best midfielder award, while Lionel Messi was named best forward.
The UEFA men's player of the year was previously known as the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, the Player of the Year award takes into account both club and national team competitions.
It was created in 2011, formerly it was aimed at reviving the European Footballer of the Year Award (Ballon d'Or), which was merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or.
It also replaced the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award. Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to win the award three times as well as two consecutive times.
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