Liverpool know the pain of Vinicius Junior and Real Madrid after finishing runners-up at the Ballon d’Or.
Vinicius and Real chose to boycott Monday night’s ceremony in Paris after learning that Man City’s Rodri had pipped the Brazilian to the award.
It was an embarrassing move from a club who are well used to getting their own way and has received rightful criticism from around the football world.
If Vinicius needed an example of how to behave having finished second in the prestigious individual gong, then he need only have looked at the response Virgil van Dijk gave after coming second to Lionel Messi in 2019.
Van Dijk arguably deserved to finish first having had a stellar, Champions League winning season with Liverpool.
But having been beaten by the greatest player of all time, the Dutchman showed Vinicius how it should be done.
Vinicius Junior shows lack of class
Van Dijk was the clear outstanding member of the Liverpool squad who won the Champions League in 2019.
However, the Reds had a wonderful season across the board and saw seven players nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
With Sadio Mane in fourth, Mohamed Salah in fifth and Alisson Becker in seventh, Liverpool players likely split the vote a little, leading to Van Dijk losing.
The same is likely to have happened with Vinicius this time. Jude Bellingham finished third, Dani Carvajal fourth and Toni Kroos ninth.
READ MORE: Where Liverpool’s Giorgi Mamardashvili finished in the best goalkeeper category at the Ballon d’Or
Nevertheless, Vinicius made it all about him. “I’ll do it 10x if I have to. They’re not ready,” the 24-year-old posted on X just minutes after the announcement that Rodri had beaten him to first place.
Madrid players including Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni all made similar posts in support of Vinicius, whilst all failing to congratulate Rodri on his win.
Compare this to what Van Dijk did after coming second five years ago, and the difference in class is stark.
What did Virgil van Dijk do?
Van Dijk came second to Messi by just seven votes in 2019. It could hardly have been closer.
But despite losing out on the cherry that would have topped an amazing career, Van Dijk was not sour in the slightest.
Instead, Van Dijk posted a lengthy congratulations to Messi, highlighting what an honour it was to be nominated alongside one of the true greats of the game.
“It’s important to sit back and admire greatness when it’s in front of you. Congratulations on another incredible year,” wrote Van Dijk, while also giving a nod to third placed Cristiano Ronaldo.
This is how it should be done and hopefully when they look back on their actions on Monday, Vinicius Junior and the whole of Real Madrid will feel the sting of shame at their disrespect towards their fellow professionals. Shameful.
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