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#1 Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool did nothing wrong when they decided to splash €84.5 million for the former Southampton man. The imposing defender took no time to settle into Jurgen Klopp's squad, reaching the Champions League final in his debut season as a Liverpool player.
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The 28-year-old has further established himself as Europe's best center back since he won the 2018/19 Champions League. He also played a critical role in Liverpool's impressive Premier League run. No player was able to dribble past Van Dijk in both the Champions League and the Premier League last season.
He was named Netherlands's captain and led the national team to UEFA Nations League final last month. The imposing defender recorded excellent stats in the international competition, amassing 4.8 clearances and winning 3.2 aerial duels on average per game. Overall, Van Dijk is still slightly ahead of Lionel Messi due to the defender's impressive UEFA Nations League spell.
