Veteran English journalist, Piers Morgan, and Liverpool defender, Virgil Van Dijk, had a heated exchange on Twitter over comments the latter made during the Ballon d’Or awards on Monday.

Van Dijk, who came second behind Lionel Messi in Ballon d’Or vote, while responding to question had jokingly wondered if Cristiano Ronaldo Ronaldo was a rival winning the award during his interview..

Recall that Ronaldo came 3rd behind Messi and van Dijk.

Upset by the comments, Piers Morgan responded immediately with a tweet:

“No..@Cristiano is a far greater player, you’re not in his league.”

Ronaldo snubbed the awards ceremony, preferring to spend the night in Lisbon after learning he had not won this year’s accolade. The Juventus star finished third.

Van Dijk had been tipped by many to win the Ballon d’Or after his hugely consistent performances at the back last season helped Liverpool win the Champions League and finished second to Manchester City in the Premier League.

After the ceremony, Dijk shaded Morgan, saying he was quick to jump on the social media bandwagon.

Van Dijk tweeted,

“Hi Piers, If you don’t jump on the social media bandwagon and would listen to the whole interview then you would know I made a joke, and only got respect for those 2.”