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What's the story?
Liverpool defender, Virgil van Dijk, has dismissed all talk surrounding a potential Ballon d'Or win after he was named the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Player of the Year earlier this week.
The Dutchman insists that his focus is instead on Liverpool's Champions League semi-final clash with Barcelona.
In case you didn't know
Van Dijk beat Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Sergio Aguero, Sadio Mane, and Eden Hazard to the PFA Player of the Year award on Sunday in recognition of his spectacular contributions to Liverpool this season.
The Dutchman has helped the Merseyside outfit keep 23 clean sheets in 45 appearances this season and has also contributed to the club's goal tally with five under his belt.
Van Dijk's commanding presence at the centre of the team's defence has remarkably aided Liverpool's title challenge this season. Jurgen Klopp's men are fighting off defending champions Manchester City for their first league title in decades, with the race being one of the closest in Premier League history.
The centre-back has been pegged to win more individual accolades this term, with a Ballon d'Or nomination definitely on the cards.
The heart of the matter
When asked about winning the Ballon d'Or, Van Dijk responded by saying his focus is on the remaining games, particularly the mammoth clash against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals.
The Liverpool star said (via Goal),
"Nah, that's not something that's on my mind at all. There are currently players walking around in this football world that are out of this world basically and they've been doing it for many years."
"I'm very happy how I perform at the moment, how consistent I'm performing, that I'm fit as well. I think I just need to not look too far ahead."
"Right now we're in a tight title race, in the Champions League semi-finals against a fantastic team, where probably the best players are playing so we just take it game by game."
"For us now it's time to focus on Barcelona midweek and then we have a big game at Newcastle away as well so I won't look too far ahead and the only goals I will set are personal goals with Liverpool."
What's next?
The highly-anticipated semi-final clash between the two giants will take place on Wednesday night.
