Jurgen Klopp 'upset' former Liverpool star with Ballon d'Or remark and Lionel Messi waded in

Jurgen Klopp touted Virgil van Dijk for the Ballon d'Or in 2019 but his endorsement caused tension with another Liverpool star who even had the support of Lionel Messi

Virgil van Dijk's placing in this year's Ballon d'Or ceremony represented a significant drop from his runner-up spot in 2019. Nevertheless, Liverpool's legendary skipper found himself at the heart of a reported row between former manager Jurgen Klopp and ex-teammate Sadio Mane in the build-up to the 2019 awards.

Van Dijk secured 28th position in this year's Ballon d'Or as PSG winger Ousmane Dembele claimed the prize. In 2019, which saw Lionel Messi triumph, former Reds manager Klopp openly supported the notion of Van Dijk securing the accolade ahead of Mane, who was also in contention.

The controversy reportedly infuriated Mane, who even received backing from Messi himself, reports the Mirror. Following a campaign where Van Dijk assisted Liverpool in claiming their sixth European Cup and pushing Manchester City all the way in the Premier League title battle, Klopp championed his centre-half for the prestigious honour.

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"Things like this are decisions made by journalists. I see it slightly different and a lot of people see it slightly different but that's absolutely no problem," Klopp said.

"Lionel Messi, I've said probably 500,000 times in my life already, is probably the best player I saw in my lifetime. Very early in my life, I saw Franz Beckenbauer and Diego Maradona but I've seen Lionel Messi more.

"I don't know how the others would have played nowadays – probably exceptional – but Lionel Messi is here now and he has won it six times and Cristiano [Ronaldo] five times but last season I cannot remember a more impressive season from a defender ever. Honestly. So it would have been right if Virg won it."

According to France Football, Klopp's comments 'upset' Mane, with speculation about an Anfield departure for the forward quickly emerging afterwards.

Mane netted 22 times for Liverpool during their Champions League-winning campaign and proved crucial to a Reds frontline that also included Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.

The Senegalese forward ultimately claimed fourth position in the Ballon d'Or rankings. Whilst his own manager had switched support to Van Dijk - though this also came at the cost of six other Liverpool nominees including Salah, Firmino, Georginio Wijnaldum, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson Becker, he discovered an advocate in Messi himself.

"It's a shame to see Mane finish in fourth place," Messi told Canal+ after claiming the prestigious award ahead of Van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"But I think there have been a lot of great players this year. That's why it was difficult to choose a particular player. But I chose Sadio Mane because he's a player that I like. Mane achieved a great year that was exceptional for the entire Liverpool team. That's why I chose him."

Despite the reported upheaval caused by Klopp's endorsement, Mane remained at Liverpool until 2022 before making a move to Bayern Munich. He left the Reds with an impressive tally of 120 goals and six major trophies under his belt, including the Premier League title in 2020.

This year's Ballon d'Or rankings featured four Liverpool players among the top 30, with Alexis Mac Allister securing the 22nd spot and new recruit Florian Wirtz ranking just above Van Dijk in 29th place.

Last season, Salah played a pivotal role in Liverpool's Premier League victory, contributing 34 goals and 23 assists, but he could only secure a fourth-place finish in the Ballon d'Or rankings. Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and PSG midfielder Vitinha were ranked second and third respectively.

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