Virgil van Dijk has revealed he voted for Raheem Sterling as the PFA player of the year, despite the Manchester City winger being a key rival in the Premier League title race. The Liverpool defender, himself among the favourites for the award, opted for the former Anfield player after a season of marked improvement.
Van Dijk said he believed Sterling deserved the honour and considered other City players, including Bernardo Silva. “I did what I thought and I thought he deserves it,” the Dutchman explained. “He’s had a fantastic season. I think he has improved a lot as a player.”
Sterling has scored 15 goals and provided nine assists for Pep Guardiola’s side this term. The England international is understood to have voted for Tottenham’s Harry Kane.
Liverpool’s focus now shifts to Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Porto at Anfield. Van Dijk insists individual accolades are secondary to team success, noting Liverpool have lost only one league game this season. “Until everything is decided, we just have to keep going and give everything that we have got,” he said.
“Individual trophies? I don’t know. All the hard work in the training ground is something we all did together. It is to win something as a team, a collective thing as a club.”
