Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has admitted he was “slightly disappointed” to miss out on the 2019 Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi.

The Barcelona captain scooped the award for a record sixth time early this month but it was a close run thing, Messi scored 686 points compared to Van Dijk’s 679.

The Liverpool defender has now offered his thoughts on the Ballon d’Or and the respect he received from Lionel Messi at the ceremony.

“I was slightly disappointed. I decided I would still go to the ceremony – and, in the end, it was a super night. “I spoke to Messi during the ­evening. It was not the longest ­conversation because he doesn’t speak a lot of English. “But it was still enough to make me realise that the respect between us now also runs the other way.” Source | Mirror

Van Dijk helped Liverpool follow up their Champions League success on Saturday with victory at the Club World Cup, beating Brazilian side Flamengo 1-0 in the final in Qatar.