After Winning UEFA Player of the Year, Virgil van Dijk’s Ballon d’Or Odds Shorten to -400

• Virgil van Dijk has emerged as a heavy favorite to claim this year’s Ballon d’Or
• The Liverpool star has climbed the Ballon d’Or odds following a historic win as UEFA Player of the Year
• Lionel Messi sits second to van Dijk at +275, well ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo at a distant +1600

After making history by winning the prestigious UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is poised to add to his increasingly crowded trophy case, emerging as a heavy -400 favorite in Ballon d’Or odds to also take home that award as well.

Odds to Win 2019 Ballon d’Or

*Odds taken on September 4, 2019

Van Dijk Establishes Several Firsts With UEFA Win

With last week’s win, van Dijk became the first defender, the first Dutchman, and the first player from the Premier League to claim UEFA Men’s Player of the Year honors, and with good reason.

The 28-year-old played a key role in Liverpool FC’s outstanding campaign, coming away as Man of the Match in the Reds’ narrow 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champions League final, as well as Netherlands’ march to the final four in the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League.

Virgil van Dijk has been crowned UEFA's 2018/19 Men's Player of the Year!

• FIRST defender ever to win the award

• FIRST Premier League player ever to win the award

• Has also won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and PFA Player of the Year award during the last year pic.twitter.com/kmsurOsMxD

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 29, 2019

Van Dijk also completed the UEFA double by picking up Defender of the Year honors and has been outstanding since moving to Liverpool from Southampton in January 2018, keeping the most clean sheets of any defender in the top five European leagues last season.

Van Dijk also completed the UEFA double by picking up Defender of the Year honors, and has been outstanding since moving to Liverpool from Southampton in January 2018.

With such impressive credentials from the past season, is there any chance that van Dijk will come up short in his bid for the Ballon d’Or? The Dutchman is faced with some impressive competition from a pair of five-time winners, with Lionel Messi sitting second on the Ballon d’Or odds at +275, well ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who lags at a distant +1600.

Messi Emerges as van Dijk’s Closest Competition for Ballon d’Or

Messi is coming off another spectacular La Liga campaign with FC Barcelona, leading the league for a third straight season with 36 goals despite missing three weeks of action early on after suffering a broken arm.

Another incredible stat by Messi. Combined goals and assists this season:

– Lionel Messi: 60
– Cristiano Ronaldo: 36
– Sterling: 35
– Benzema: 31
– Salah: 28
– Hazard: 27
– Griezmann: 26

The fact that he has been out for a month with a broken arm makes it even more insane.

— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) March 19, 2019

With Messi powering the attack, Barca waltzed to a second straight La Liga title, outpacing second-place Atletico Madrid by 11 points. However, Barcelona’s struggles on the international stage are likely to work against the Argentine superstar.

The club saw their championship drought in Champions League play extended to four years with a stunning semifinal loss at the hands of van Dijk and the Reds despite Messi’s domination on the pitch, leading the tournament with 12 goals in 10 appearances.

Copa America Outburst Working Against Messi?

And while the 32-year-old was part of Argentina’s national squad that came away with a third-place finish at this summer’s Copa America, the tournament ended in bitter disappointment for Messi, who picked up just one goal.

Messi also failed to make any new friends at CONMEBOL, after accusing the governing body of South America of corruption following Argentina’s controversial exit in semifinal action, which may have also been a factor in his distant second-place finish behind van Dijk in UEFA Men’s Player of the Year voting.

📰 [AS] | Messi facing possible two year ban for CONMEBOL corruption comments

🔷 The federation may take matters into their own hands after Messi’s outburst.

🔶 Messi could miss not just the qualification for World Cup 2022, but also the Copa América 2020 in Argentina. pic.twitter.com/lJr1KeExmV

— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) July 7, 2019

However, Messi’s outburst is likely to have little impact on voting for the Ballon d’Or, which is awarded by France Football, a French weekly magazine, which has no affiliation with FIFA or CONMEBOL. That leaves Messi as an intriguing +275 value wager to once again raise the hardware when this year’s Ballon d’Or winner is announced.

Pick: Lionel Messi (+275)