Ryan Babel has admitted it will be difficult but not impossible for Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk to win the Ballon d'Or.
The Dutch captain is being tipped as one of the favourites to scoop the prestigious award along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
In an interview with Sky Sports, following the Netherlands 1-0 defeat to Portugal in the Nations League final, Babel was asked his thoughts on Van Dijk being linked with potentially winning the award.
To which the Besiktas striker responded: "I mean last time I remember (a defender winning the) Ballon d'Or it was (Fabio) Cannavaro in 2006, so, it's not impossible.
"But I think it's fair that he will be at least on the list and we will see at the end if he wins it, and I will be very happy for him."
In 2018 Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric was voted the world's best player.
It was the first time in a decade that neither Messi or Ronaldo had been crowned the outright winner.
