REVEALED: Why Virgil van Dijk voted for Raheem Sterling to be crowned PFA Player of the Year if he could have voted for own team-mates

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk’s decision to vote for Manchester City star Raheem Sterling as PFA Player of the Year surprised many. Rules state that you can't vote for one of your own team-mates and Van Dijk has thrown his support behind former Reds winger Sterling, who has scored 19 goals for Premier League title rivals Manchester City this season. It proves that he has sights set on team glory with Liverpool rather than personal accolades. “I voted for Raheem Sterling,” Van Dijk revealed. “I did what I thought and I thought he deserves it. He’s had a fantastic season. “I think I could have voted for Bernardo Silva as well and another couple of players from Manchester City. But I am just being honest. I think he has improved a lot as a player. We will see if he wins it.” The Reds find themselves bang in contention for both as they prepare for Tuesday's quarter-final first leg against Porto at Anfield. “Of course you’re going to be proud if you win an individual trophy, but all the hard work you put in at the training ground, you put in together to win something as a team, it's a collective thing as a club,” he said. “Hopefully that is something that will happen. With the amount of points that we have got, with only losing one game in the Premier League so far, it's something very special. “Until everything is decided, we just have to keep going. We know we hopefully have a maximum of 10 games left if we play the Champions League final - so what is 10 games? “Obviously everyone is at the point where you might get more fatigued quicker than before, but if you keep in mind that hopefully there are only 10 games then you can get that extra energy and keep going. “You want to give everything that you have got. That is what you have to keep in your head.” Liverpool welcome Porto to Anfield for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday as Jurgen Klopp aims to take a healthy advantage ahead of next week’s second leg in Portugal. The Reds returned to the top of the Premier League table with a 3-1 win at Southampton on Friday. Klopp’s men are overwhelming favourites to overcome Porto in this quarter-final.

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