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Virgil van Dijk is among a group of players who has discovered his Ballon d'Or fate ahead of tonight's ceremony. While he was never likely to be in the running for the top prize, unlike Mohamed Salah, many have been left disgruntled by the defender's final position.
The award, organized by France Football, is announcing the lowest-ranked players from the 30-man shortlist ahead of the main ceremony at 8PM BST. Big names like Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham have already been announced, at 26th and 23rd respectively.
And it's been a poor start for the Anfield contingent. Big-money addition Florian Wirtz has finished in 29th for his efforts at Bayer Leverkusen, and Van Dijk has only gone one better, finishing 28th.
Obviously, it's an achievement to even make the shortlist. While Salah has always struggled for recognition in terms of his final placement, his consistency in making the Ballon d'Or top 30 is a testament to his brilliance in its own right.
Even so, Van Dijk can feel aggrieved to finish so far down the list. It means fellow defenders Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes will finish ahead of him, as will goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
That gives an indication of the Champions League bias that has seeped into the award. All of that trio featured for the victorious PSG side.
But Van Dijk was a key cog as Liverpool strolled to the league. The Reds also reached a domestic final, and only lost to PSG in Europe on a penalty shootout.
As a result, Liverpool fans have been outraged on behalf of Van Dijk, who once finished as runner-up to Lionel Messi. They feel 28th was far too low for the captain.
"Might be the biggest joke of the whole ceremony," said Tom Little on X. "There were not 10 better players than Virgil van Dijk last season, let alone 27."
Some of the big fan accounts were similarly peeved. The Anfield Buzz wrote off the award as a waste of time: "Declan Rice has finished above Van Dijk in the Ballon d'Or," it lamented. "Van Dijk won the Premier League over Rice last season. Stop wasting your time on these rewards [sic]."
Away from Liverpool fans, InvertTheWing on X could not believe that Bellingham achieved a higher finish than Van Dijk. He put it down to PR: "Jude Bellingham finishing above the likes of Olise, Haaland, Ruiz, and Van Dijk, hilarious," he wrote.
"We have never seen PR like this in the history of the sport."
In better news for Liverpool, Salah's position is still to be confirmed, so the Premier League champion and golden boot winner can look forward to a top-10 finish.
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