Van Dijk is Special, But Not at the Messi and Ronaldo Levels

When he was the most flattered of Virgil Van Dijk's qualities, Rafael van der Vaart was a little against the current. The former Dutch national team believes that Van Dijk has not been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

Van Dijk managed to steal the show after appearing at Liverpool in one and a half seasons. There, he managed to bring the Reds twice to reach the Champions League final. The first time, they lost to Real Madrid but for the second they came out as champions after defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the final.

In addition, Van Dijk has also managed to integrate Liverpool into one of the best defense teams in England. This is considered a solid wall where opposing players cannot enter carelessly. In fact, he almost led his team to win the title if they managed to compete with Manchester City last season.

For his outstanding contribution, Van Dijk was later rewarded with the UEFA Player of the Year award. In addition, he also qualified as the best candidate for FIFA and the Golden Ball 2019 best award.

Many say that in these two awards, Van Dijk will beat two big names like Messi and Ronaldo. But Van der Vaart found that Van Dijk was not their level, even though he admitted that the 27-year-old was so special.

"He [Van Dijk] is not the best player in the world, but he is really a special player," Van der Vaart told Tuttomercatoweb.

"Messi and Ronaldo are always the best, but you cannot compare defenders and attackers," the 36-year-old added.

Van der Vaart, who also defended Spurs and Madrid, also commented on the move of young Dutch defender Matthijs De Ligt, who currently strengthens Italian giants Juventus. According to him, the 20-year-old defender made the wrong decision when playing in Italy. The former Ajax defender should have moved to Germany or Spain.

"I'd rather see him playing at Bayern [Munchen] or Barcelona." He had a difficult and difficult time competing with [Giorgio Chiellini], even though he is currently injured, and [Leonardo] Bonucci. talented young players, "he said.

Loading...

Subscribe to receive free email updates: