Back in 2018, former Celtic and Chelsea striker Chris Sutton gave his opinion on Virgil van Dijk, saying that the Dutchman was the third-best player in the world behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Is Virgil van Dijk the third best player in the world? 😳@chris_sutton73 defends his view after taking some abuse for making the claim…
You can't rattle the man! 😂#PLTonight pic.twitter.com/EH09Zxsy9h
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 20, 2018
Plenty of fans of other clubs were quick to make fun of Sutton’s opinions about the Liverpool defender.
https://twitter.com/Lyncpfc/status/1053928407359279104
Not when Schindler (who cost £1.8m) had a vastly better game, covering the whole pitch and making crucial tackles, and all van Dijk could do was throw Depoitre on the ground
— smaffoo (@matthtfcjohnson) October 20, 2018
He’s not the 3rd best player at Liverpool 😂😂
— GARY YOUNG (@garyyoung69) October 21, 2018
Chris how has van dijk got this rating from you? He’s looked average at best. I wouldn’t even say he’s better than kompany after injury. He doesn’t change games, he hasn’t been consistently solid at the back and should he get injured you wouldn’t worry for pools performance.
— Wisperin eye 89 (@wisperin_eye_89) October 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/FinallyAquino/status/1053729372379734016?s=20
However, fast forward ten months and Van Dijk has won the PFA Player of the Year award and the UEFA Player of the Year award and he’s the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or later this year.
These fans have been quick to praise Sutton for his comments on Van Dijk, which have been proven to be valid.
https://twitter.com/stehoare/status/1167521305819832323?s=20
https://twitter.com/youhavingalaugh/status/1167557836307619850?s=20
He was right. Well done Chris 👏🏿👏🏿
— Donald Rock (@ChiefRocka10) August 30, 2019
https://twitter.com/frank2005/status/1167561868480778241?s=20
Meanwhile, these supporters couldn’t help but mock those who told Sutton that he was wrong back in October.
https://twitter.com/Mane_12_1/status/1167547157672599553?s=20
— FOX_IN_THE_BOX (@salahlalalalala) August 30, 2019
— LFC (@kat_lfc13) August 30, 2019
Read Liverpool Verdict
Pundits are often criticised for incorrect predictions or for any opinions that later turn out to be poor, but in this case, Sutton deserves a huge amount of praise.
He stuck to his guns despite others mocking him and he’s been proven right at Van Dijk has already been voted as the UEFA Player of the Year and he looks certain to be included in the top three of the Ballon d’Or later this year.
