Virgil van Dijk, center-back with UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool, has made himself a popular candidate for the 2019 Ballon d'Or with remarkable performances this season in the Premier League and in Europe.

One problem defenders in soccer often meet is that their work is not as easy to understand, let alone be memorable, as that of strikers who can show their contributions with clear proof like goals. On the other hand, when a team loses, defenders are often blamed.

Therefore, in order to clarify how important van Dijk's role on the field, here is some data. According to Opta Sports, the Dutchman has played 1,080 minutes in the Champions League without being dribbled past by an opponent – the most since officials began compiling these statistics in the 2005-06 season, longer than that of all players except goalkeepers. In the past 64 games van Dijk played for the Reds, he has not lost to anyone in defense either.

If you watched how Liverpool won the Champions League title this season, you would have a better idea what a nightmare he was to the opponents' offense. In Liverpool's second-leg game of the semifinals against Barcelona, van Dijk was the reason why Barcelona were totally lost in attack and Lionel Messi was almost invisible at Anfield. In the final against Tottenham Hotspur, no matter who he had to cover – Harry Kane, Moussa Sissoko or Son Heung-min – they all ended getting nothing.

The Champions League and the Premier League know how valuable van Dijk is and that's why he was named him as the MVP of the Champions League final and the Premier League player of the year, even though the Reds failed to win the domestic championship.

van Dijk sounded very modest when asked about being the candidate for the Ballon d'Or this year. "I think Messi is the best player in the world and I think he deserves it as long as he plays," he said. "The Ballon d'Or is not something I am thinking of, but if it happens by any chance I will obviously take it. I don't think there is any case and I think that Messi is still the best player in the world and it doesn't matter if he isn't in the Champions League final."  

The last defender to receive the Ballon d'Or award was Fabio Cannavaro in 2006. Since then, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have shared all the honors except two – the 2007 one went to Kaka and the 2018 to Luka Modric. Ronaldo did not cause much of a stir this season in Juventus while Messi and his Barcelona were knocked out by van Dijk and his Liverpool. All these have made van Dijk a reasonable choice for the Ballon d'Or.