Virgil van Dijk should have beaten Lionel Messi to the men's player award at the Best FIFA Football ceremony on Monday, says Celtic manager Neil Lennon.
The Liverpool defender won the PFA Player of Year award last season and helped the Reds to win the Champions League, but was trumped by Messi at FIFA's awards ceremony in Milan.
Lennon - who brought Van Dijk to British football when he signed him during his first spell as Celtic boss - believes his former player was harshly treated.
He said: "Messi is Messi and, if you look at the numbers, we probably take it for granted what he does because he just does it so well on a regular basis.
"But I thought Virgil was the outstanding player in domestic and European football this year and he deserved to win it. I'm disappointed for him."
FIFA has not crowned a defender as its player of the year since 2006, when Fabio Cannavaro won the award after captaining Italy to World Cup glory.
Asked if being a defender holds Van Dijk back when it comes to individual awards, Lennon said: "Probably.
"We're in an era of (Cristiano) Ronaldo and Messi. We're lucky to have them and we should enjoy them. Remarkable is an understatement when it comes to those two.
"But I felt that as a centre-half he's just been outstanding in every aspect of his game."