Virgil van Dijk was flanked by his Liverpool team-mates at a glamorous ceremony on Sunday night as he collected his Professional Footballers' Association's Players' Player of the Year prize for 2019 after a stellar season.
As revealed by Sportsmail on Wednesday, the Dutch defender succeeded team-mate Mohamed Salah in winning the award after seeing off tough competition from Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling, who collected his Young Player of the Year award, following in the footsteps of City team-mate Leroy Sane.
Van Dijk was joined by Liverpool team-mates Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold after the quartet all made the Team of the Year and made the trip down to London for the glitzy ceremony at Grosvenor House.
The 27-year-old Dutchman looked suave in a tuxedo as he posed for several pictures with his prize after being given it on stage.
Van Dijk beat off competition from a six-man shortlist that included Mane, Sterling, Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva and Eden Hazard to claim the prestigious prize.
'I think it's special, definitely,' the 27-year-old said. 'If you see the standard of strikers we have in the league or play makers we have in the league, it's unbelievable.
'If you see the shortlist and quality there is, it's very special that the players in the league voted for me. I won't take it for granted. It's just very special.
'I think throughout the whole season I've been feeling great. We've been winning many games, we are competing with Man City for the title and I think the most important thing is to stay fit and play consistent as well - I think I've been doing that pretty well this season.
'Obviously without the help of my team-mates, it wouldn't be possible but we have just to keep going, carry on and I'm feeling good.'
Van Dijk went on to pay tribute to his Liverpool team-mates. 'I think the key is that the way we defend is that we do it all together,' he added.
'Defending starts upfront, our strikers put pressure on their defenders, it's unbelievable.
'I don't want to be put under pressure by those kind of players and even if they (the opponent) beat that press, we still have a midfield that keeps hunting you down at all times.
'It makes it a lot easier for us as the back four. But if we're under pressure we still need to deal with it and I think that's been going pretty well as well.
'Everyone is responsible for the good things that have been going on right now at Liverpool. We just want to keep it going and hopefully that will result in trophies.'
Source: dailymail