Liverpool superstar defender Virgil van Dijk beat out Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus to win UEFA Men's Player of the Year honors on Thursday. The award was given out along with others after the Champions League draw in Monaco. Van Dijk led the Reds to Champions League glory in the 2018-19 season and also advanced to the UEFA Nations final with the Netherlands, losing to Ronaldo and Portugal.
Messi did end up winning forward of the season, beating Ronaldo and Liverpool's Sadio Mane. Lucy Bronze, meanwhile, was named the Women's Player of the Year.
Here is a look a look at the nominees and the winners are in bold.
UEFA Men's Player of the Year
- Lionel Messi, Barcelona
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus
- Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool
UEFA Women's Player of the Year
- Lucy Bronze, Lyon
- Ada Hegerberg, Lyon
- Amandine Henry, Lyon
Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season
- Alisson Becker, Liverpool
- Hugo Lloris, Tottenham
- Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Barcelona
Champions League Defender of the Season
- Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool
- Matthijs de Ligt, Ajax (currently at Juventus)
- Virgil Van Dijk, Liverpool
Champions League Midfielder of the Season
- Frenkie de Jong, Ajax (currently at Barcelona)
- Christian Eriksen, Tottenham
- Jordan Henderson, Liverpool
Champions League Forward of the Season
- Sadio Mane, Liverpool
- Lionel Messi, Barcelona
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus
Europa League Player of the season (TBD)
- Olivier Giroud, Chelsea
- Eden Hazard, Chelsea (currently at Real Madrid)
- Luka Jovic, Eintracht Frankfurt (currently at Real Madrid)
