Sadio Mane posts cheeky Instagram post to Virgil van Dijk after Liverpool star claims award

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Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk capped an impressive 12 months by winning the UEFA Player of the Year award at an awards ceremony in Monaco.

The Dutch destroyer was a standout performer in Liverpool’s sensational 2018/19 campaign which saw them win the Champions League and come very close to winning the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp has gone about putting Liverpool back on the map during his time as the club’s manager. The one prize that he will be desperate to get his hands on, however, is the elusive Premier League crown.

The 28-year-old is one of the world’s very best defenders and he could well lay claim to the Ballon d’Or crown when it is announced in December.

The ex-Southampton and Celtic defender is bidding to become the first defender to win the crown since Fabio Cannavaro in 2006 and you wouldn’t back against him.

Following his unveiling as UEFA Player of the Year last night, his team-mate Sadio Mane took to Instagram to heap praise on van Dijk.

The £100,000-a-week (Spotrac) forward was keen to congratulate the defender, but he did offer him a warning that there was no time to ‘party’, given that Liverpool have a big game coming up on Saturday:

Mane’s cheeky tweet to his team-mate epitomises the team-spirit that is currently sky-high at Anfield.

The group of players at Klopp’s disposal right now are among the best for many years and it seems likely that more trophies are on the horizon.

Van Dijk will probably be satisfied to claim the UEFA Player of the Year ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but you can bet he will be chomping at the bit to win three points against Burnley this weekend.