In the glittering halls of Paris, where football’s elite gathered for the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony, the air was thick with anticipation. Ousmane Dembélé of Paris Saint-Germain lifted the coveted golden ball, cementing PSG’s dominance after their Champions League triumph. Lamine Yamal finished a close second, and Mohamed Salah claimed fourth for Liverpool, a nod to his prolific season. But amid the celebrations, one revelation cut deeper than a Sadio Mané counterattack: Virgil van Dijk, the indomitable captain of the Reds, had been relegated to 28th place in the final rankings—third from the bottom in the top 30 shortlist.

For Liverpool supporters, this wasn’t just a slight; it was a travesty. Van Dijk, the towering Dutchman often hailed as “the mobile fortress” or “King of the Backline,” had orchestrated one of the most solid defenses in Premier League history during the 2024/25 campaign. Under new manager Arne Slot, Liverpool clinched their second league title in six years, with Van Dijk at the helm as captain for the first time. He featured in 49 matches, scoring five goals from set-pieces—a remarkable tally for a center-back—and conceding just 28 goals in the league, the fewest since his own transformative arrival in 2018. Yet, the Ballon d’Or voters—journalists from FIFA’s 100-member associations—ranked him below the likes of Declan Rice (27th), Erling Haaland (26th), and even Scott McTominay (18th), sparking a digital storm that has seen #JusticeForVVD trend worldwide.

The Athletic captured the pulse of the outrage in a detailed piece, noting that fans were “heavily unimpressed” by the placement. “Virgil deserves top five at least—he’s a walking wall!” one supporter tweeted, encapsulating the sentiment echoing across social media. On X (formerly Twitter), the backlash was immediate and ferocious. “If there are 27 footballers better than Van Dijk, I’ve been watching a different sport,” fumed one user, while another decried, “Seeing McTominay over Van Dijk is the lowest this sport has gone.” Memes flooded timelines: Van Dijk photoshopped as a forgotten giant from Game of Thrones, towering over hapless attackers like a colossus ignored by the Iron Throne; another showed him as the Hulk, smashing through defenses while Ballon d’Or voters hid behind a “goals bias” shield. The creativity was as relentless as the Reds’ press.

This isn’t mere fan hyperbole. Van Dijk’s 2024/25 season was a masterclass in defensive artistry. Liverpool’s backline, anchored by the 34-year-old, posted a league-best +52 goal difference, with Van Dijk completing 92% of his passes and winning 78% of aerial duels—stats that would make a midfielder blush. He marshaled the team to a Carabao Cup final (though they fell to Newcastle) and a deep Champions League run, only bowing out to eventual winners PSG. Internationally, the Netherlands underperformed at Euro 2024, but Van Dijk’s individual brilliance—captaining the Oranje to the quarterfinals—shouldn’t have been penalized so harshly. Critics point to the award’s historical bias toward attackers: only three defenders have ever won it, the last being Fabio Cannavaro in 2006. Van Dijk himself came agonizingly close in 2019, finishing second to Lionel Messi after Liverpool’s Champions League glory, a near-miss that still stings.

The Athletic’s report delved deeper, highlighting how the snub underscores broader frustrations with the Ballon d’Or’s criteria, which emphasize individual flair over collective impact. “Van Dijk was outstanding as he captained Liverpool to the Premier League title,” the outlet noted, yet his placement suggests voters prioritize tap-ins over tackles. Fans echoed this in viral threads: “Ballon d’Or doesn’t recognize defenders. It’s a known fact,” one Celtic supporter lamented, recalling Van Dijk’s stellar loan spell at Parkhead in 2013/14, where he won two trophies and earned a £13 million move to Southampton. On Reddit’s r/PremierLeague, the thread exploded with 118 comments, Liverpool faithful branding it “the biggest joke of the whole ceremony.”

The fury manifested in action too. Within hours of the leak—dropped teasingly by the Ballon d’Or’s official X account ahead of the ceremony—an online petition titled “Justice for VVD: Elevate the King of Defenders” garnered over 50,000 signatures. Hosted on Change.org, it argues that Van Dijk’s leadership transformed Liverpool from Europa League contenders to champions, demanding a review of the voting process. “Virgil isn’t just a player; he’s the backbone of a dynasty,” the petition reads, calling for greater weight to defensive metrics in future ballots. Echoes of this discontent rippled beyond Merseyside: neutral observers on X questioned the merit of rankings that placed Florian Wirtz (29th, a Liverpool signing) below Van Dijk, only one spot separating the duo.

Yet, amid the cacophony, Van Dijk remained the epitome of composure—a trait as defining as his 6’4″ frame. While Salah and Alexis Mac Allister (22nd) basked in relative acclaim, the captain opted for subtlety. Hours after the ceremony, he posted an Instagram Story: a candid family snap of him enveloped in hugs from his four children, captioned simply, “Thanks everyone, but I only need these hugs from my kids!” The four-word missive (in the photo’s overlay) was laced with quiet defiance, a subtle rebuke to the voters without descending into bitterness. It was classic VVD: unflappable, family-first, and utterly Liverpool.

Van Dijk’s journey to this moment is the stuff of Anfield legend. Born in Breda, Netherlands, in 1991, he rose from Groningen’s youth ranks to Celtic, where his commanding presence earned him Player of the Year honors. Southampton snapped him up in 2015, but it was his £75 million world-record transfer to Liverpool in January 2018 that redefined elite defending. Pre-Van Dijk, the Reds leaked 20 goals in 13 league games; post-arrival, they conceded just seven in the remainder, kickstarting an era of silverware: the 2019 Champions League, 2020 Premier League, and now 2025’s title redux. Off the pitch, he’s a philanthropist, founding the VVD Foundation to support youth football in his hometown, and a style icon, turning heads in Dior on the Paris red carpet.

The snub raises uncomfortable questions about football’s glamour hierarchy. Why does a player who nullified Haaland, silenced Mbappé, and lifted trophies as skipper rank below a midfielder known for two free-kicks? As one X user quipped, “Declan Rice ahead of Virgil sums up why this award isn’t worth a carrot.” Liverpool’s quadruple nomination—Salah, Mac Allister, Van Dijk, and Wirtz—speaks to their depth, yet the skewed rankings expose the award’s attacker favoritism.

As the dust settles, Van Dijk’s response offers perspective. In a post-ceremony interview snippet shared by GIVEMESPORT, he shrugged: “Awards are nice, but trophies with the team and moments with family—that’s what lasts.” For fans still seething, it’s fuel for the fire: next season, with Liverpool eyeing a treble, Van Dijk could silence doubters anew. The petition grows, memes multiply, and #YNWA chants grow louder. In Merseyside, the king remains uncrowned—but far from forgotten.