Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk snubs Ronaldo in his list of toughest opponents

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk ignored Cristiano Ronaldo in his list of toughest opponents he has faced.

Van Dijk has established himself as one of the best defenders in the world since joining the Reds for £75million in 2018.

He has helped guide the Merseyside club to Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup glory, facing some of the most prolific players in that time.

The Dutchman has come up against Ronaldo on a number of occasions including the 2018 Champions League final, yet the Real Madrid legend failed to make Van Dijk's list.

Van Dijk instead opted for Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Sergio Aguero and Olivier Giroud.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, he explained his decision to pick Haaland and Aguero.

'I would say Erling Haaland is a very difficult opponent, [he is] very strong, a modern day striker,' Van Dijk said.

'It's the directness. If you give them an inch then they will punish you.

'It's the same with Aguero. He didn't score many goals against us, but since I played against him when I was at Southampton he was always a handful, he could finish with his left or right, you always had to be at your best.

'I remember one goal he scored against us in 2018-19, he came in front of Dejan Lovren from a cross and finished it so quickly.'

Giroud was not prolific during his time in the Premier League but Van Dijk explained what made the Frenchman a tough opponent.

He said: '[He was] a link-up player, together at the time with [Eden] Hazard, it was always Hazard giving him the flick an.  he would hold up the ball.

'He also scored good goals against me. I always felt like he wasn't going to score, but he managed to score.'