Van Dijk lifts crown as Uefa’s finest

Liverpool defender pips Ronaldo and Messi Bronze named women’s player of the year

Virgil van Dijk became the first Premier League representative in 11 years to be crowned Uefa player of the year on a lavish Monaco night when Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi finally buried the hatchet.

Lucy Bronze, the England fullback, was also celebrating, beating Lyon team-mates Ada Hegerberg and Amandine Henry to the women’s player-of-the-year award.

Van Dijk, 28, pipped Ronaldo and Messi to the individual crown, but the once bitter rivals remained in high spirits after apparently ending any bad blood between them.

The pair laughed and chatted together throughout the Champions

Honoured: England’s Lucy Bronze was named women’s player of the year by Uefa

League group stage draw, which handed inviting ties to both Liverpool and Manchester City.

When asked about his budding new “bromance” with Messi, Ronaldo joked: “We have a good relationship, [but] we have not had dinner together yet. We have had a battle for 15 years.”

Van Dijk, whose Liverpool side begin the defence of their crown with another group-stage meeting with Napoli, said that his achievements should give hope to slow starters.

“I am not a player who was 18 and had the rise straightaway,” he said. “I had to work hard every step of the way. I am very proud to get this trophy and it’s all credit to everyone who has helped me along the way.”

The last English-based player to win the award was Ronaldo while he was at Manchester United in 2008. Van Dijk, however, said his inspiration had been Ronaldinho.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, meanwhile, warned his defending champions to prepare for a “very experienced side” in Napoli for the second season in a row. The two other teams drawn in Liverpool’s group are Salzburg and Genk, the champions of Austria and Belgium respectively.

Finalists Tottenham were drawn with Bayern Munich, Olympiakos – who came through qualifying – and Red Star Belgrade, who beat Liverpool last season.

Europa League champions Chelsea will face Ajax, the darlings of last season’s competition, plus Valencia and Lille.

Premier League champions City were arguably given the easiest of draws among the English quartet – Shakhtar Donetsk, a team they beat 9-0 over two ties last season, Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta, who were third in Serie A last season.

Txiki Begiristain, City’s director of football, said of his side’s draw: “As always, it is going to be tough. We know Shakhtar well and see them for a third time. Atalanta are a strong team. We have to be always there. One day it is going to come. We have to keep fighting.”

Uefa also announced last season’s goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward of the season – Liverpool’s Alisson Becker and Van Dijk, Frenkie De Jong and Messi.

Bronze, 27, who has been with French club Lyon since 2017, was England’s top performer at the Women’s World Cup this year, when she won the Silver Ball as the tournament’s second-best player.

“I want to say thanks to the Lionesses,” she said. “I don’t think I would have won this award had it not been for them.”