2019 Ballon d’Or Winner: Was Virgil Van Dijk Robbed?

In 2019, Lionel Messi claimed a record sixth Ballon d’Or of his career.

Whilst the Argentine’s victory was far from unexpected – it sparked a debate about whether another player was more deserving.

Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk came a close second, in fact the Dutchman lost out by just eight points, finishing with a total of 679 in comparison to Messi’s 686.

In theory, it would have taken only a small handful of players, coaches or journalists to vote differently for the evening to end with Van Dijk as the victor.

Was there a bias towards Messi and his legacy or perhaps an historical reluctance to back a defender for the prize?

Was Lionel Messi A Worthy Winner?

Well, yes and no.

This Ballon d’Or represented the first in recent memory in which both fans and the media raised questions about whether Messi truly deserved to win the award.

Aside from Luka Modric’s runaway win the previous year, no-one in a decade had seriously rivalled the Argentine except fellow superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, with few other serious contenders disrupting the order.

Make no mistake, Messi had been remarkable throughout the 2018/19 campaign, ending the season with 51 goals in just 50 appearances as he guided Barcelona to their 26th La Liga title.

During the first half of the 2019/20 campaign, Messi once again showed a level of class and consistency he has become synonymous with.

Should Virgil Van Dijk Have Won The Ballon d’Or?

There is a strong argument that Ballon d’Or runner up, Liverpool’s enigmatic centre-back Virgil Van Dijk, outperformed the little Argentinian over the course of the calendar year.

During the 2018/19 campaign in particular Van Dijk was nothing short of outstanding, featuring 50 times across all competitions, scoring six goals and providing numerous world class defensive displays. Liverpool won the Champions League and finished second to Manchester City having amassed an incredible 97 points!

However, the Ballon d’Or is notoriously hard for defenders to win with only three players managing to achieve success before.

Previous winning defenders include German Franz Beckenbauer (1972 and 1976), Borussia Dortmund legend Mathias Sammer (1996) and Italian centre-back Fabio Cannavaro (2006) completing the trio to have claimed the prize over the course of seven decades!

Cannavaro’s main opponents on his way to winning the 2006 Ballon d’Or included fellow international teammate Gigi Buffon and Thierry Henry – although his overall total was 50 points greater than the pair.

The Italian had an incredible year. His campaign that couldn’t be ignored – even for a defender – winning the 2005/06 Série A title with Juventus and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In the end, the result of the 2019 Ballon d’Or likely came down to the tightest of margins. If Liverpool had secured the 2018/19 Premier League title or if Van Dijk had been a more attack minded player, then perhaps the Dutchman would have become only the fourth defender to win in the award’s history.

2019 Ballon d’Or Top 20

Trivia

• Lionel Messi’s total of 51 goals in 2018/19 was the fifth time in his career he surpassed 50 strikes in a single season but it would be the last time he achieved the feat (as of July 2023)
• Virgil Van Dijk played every Premier League game across both the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons – scoring 11 out of his 19 League goals during those two campaigns.
• Cristiano Ronaldo scored 101 goals in three seasons for Juventus – in comparison, it was a landmark he wouldn’t reach until his sixth year at Manchester United.