Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has spoken out following his unexpected finish in the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings, where he placed 28th out of the 30 nominees.
The Dutch defender, who has been a cornerstone for the Reds, attended the ceremony in Paris but was left far down the list in a result that raised eyebrows among fans online. The award was ultimately claimed by Ousmane Dembélé of PSG, while Van Dijk’s teammate Mohamed Salah secured a respectable fourth place after claiming the Premier League Golden Boot and guiding Liverpool to the league title.
Liverpool had more representation on the shortlist: Alexis Mac Allister finished 22nd, while new signing Florian Wirtz ranked 29th for his performances with Bayer Leverkusen before arriving at Anfield.
Van Dijk was the first of the Liverpool quartet to respond publicly. Sharing pictures from the gala on Instagram, he captioned them with a short but sharp message:
“Better luck next time 😂🤞.”
Meanwhile, Reds goalkeeper Alisson Becker narrowly missed out on individual glory, finishing runner-up in the Yashin Trophy. Manager Arne Slot also missed out on the Coach of the Year prize, which went to PSG’s Luis Enrique.
Liverpool’s official social media acknowledged the results, highlighting Salah’s campaign with the caption:
“A season to savour for Salah ❤️.”
Despite strong individual and team displays, the wait continues for an active Liverpool player to lift the Ballon d’Or — a drought stretching back to Michael Owen’s historic 2001 triumph. The closest since then remains Van Dijk’s runner-up finish in 2019.
Leave a Reply