Messi is above the rest – De Jong tips Barca team-mate to pip Van Dijk for Ballon d´Or

Lionel Messi would clearly be the most deserving winner of the Ballon d’Or despite Virgil van Dijk’s outstanding year, according to Barcelona team-mate Frenkie de Jong.

Liverpool centre-back Van Dijk was long considered the favourite for the prestigious individual honour having helped the Reds to Champions League glory last season.

Van Dijk has also impressed this term as Liverpool – agonisingly pipped to the 2018-19 Premier League title by Manchester City – have surged eight points clear at the summit.

However, Mundo Deportivo claimed on Tuesday that Messi has been told he has won the Ballon d’Or for the sixth time, meaning he will have edged out Van Dijk again having scooped FIFA’s The Best Men’s Player prize.

De Jong says there is no doubt Messi deserves the recognition.

“For me, I said it a lot but Messi is the best player in the world so he has to win it,” he said. 

“Van Dijk had an amazing season, he is a great defender and one of the best players in the world.

“But Messi is above and he is by far the best.”

@DeJongFrenkie21: “We know we can get better and we are working towards that. We have a great team” #UCL #BarçaBVB pic.twitter.com/t7R0xUmtnI

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 26, 2019

De Jong completed his move to Camp Nou from Ajax in July and has been a standout performer in a Barca side who have failed to convince despite sitting top of LaLiga and Champions League Group F.

The Netherlands midfielder knows the team are capable of showing more consistency but is enjoying life in Catalonia ahead of Wednesday’s visit of Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. 

“I’m really happy to be here. It’s everything I dreamed of. Of course we can play better, we’re working as hard as we can and hopefully everyone can see [on Wednesday] that we’re improving,” said De Jong.

“We can play better, I think we have an amazing team, most of the best players in the world, so we know we can perform better but we’re winning, first in the most difficult group in the tournament. We’re not doing really, really bad but of course we can do better.

“We know we can improve, we talk about it a lot, we’re training a lot. There’s not a single game where a team made no mistakes so it’s normal to make mistakes. I think we can improve a lot but we’re not playing as badly as people think.”

Ernesto Valverde’s men have yet to make sure of a place in the knockout stages, although victory at home to Dortmund will get the job done. 

“We know it’s really important, if we win we qualify, we’re already first in the group,” De Jong added.

“It’s really important for us, qualifying for the next stage is the most important thing.”