There was a scene last Sunday which highlighted just why Virgil van Dijk is the ultimate captain, role-model and ambassador of Liverpool Football Club.
A scene to emphasise why extending the Dutchman’s stay with a two-year deal was more important than any signing that will be made in this summer which promises to be busy in the transfer market.
First, midway through talking to reporters about his love for the club, he broke off the conversation to embrace Sean Cox, the Liverpool supporter who suffered brain injuries in an unprovoked attack outside Anfield in 2018.
‘I just need to say hi,’ he said, turning to the gentleman in a wheelchair, who was invited to Anfield to celebrate his birthday with family. ‘Oh Sean, it has been a long time, my friend… I’ll come and have a proper chat in a minute.’
Some may have ignored Cox or just said hello – but Van Dijk’s warmth, openness and friendliness was exemplary and painted the picture of a footballer who, before anything, is a human being like the rest of us. And a charming human being he is.
When he returned to talk to Mail Sport and others, he was inevitably bombarded with questions about his contract. ‘First, all the focus should be going to the Hillsborough anniversary,’ he replied. ‘That's the main thing and then we'll see (about the contract).’
Another classy touch from a classy gentleman who sets the standards both on and off the pitch.
Van Dijk is a buy-one-get-one-free footballer. Sign up the greatest defender in the world and, with it, get the best captain, standard-bearer and professional in the Premier League. Not cheap but worth every single penny.
Some, like Steven Gerrard, were born here. Others, like Van Dijk, were drawn here.
Gerrard lived every Liverpudlian’s dream while captaining Liverpool and was the local heartbeat of the team for two decades. Van Dijk cannot claim to do the same, but he is now an honorary Scouser who is the best captain since Gerrard and one of the very best to wear the armband.
No one is truly irreplaceable in football but Van Dijk is almighty close to that level. Look at Chelsea: since long-term skipper John Terry left, has any defender ever been fit to lace the boots of ‘JT’?
Sources close to the dressing room talk of Van Dijk having a brotherly relationship with all of the squad. He is there to put an arm round players when they need it, as he has done to Darwin Nunez several times this season after bad misses, but is also demanding and vocal.
He never gets too high with the highs and, just as important, never gets too low with the lows. There is a running joke among the regular reporters following the clubs that we speak to Van Dijk more than our families some weeks.
He is always there, seeking us out for a chat, fronting up when the team has lost – a collectors’ item this season – and speaking calmly after victory. That twice-weekly conversation is a window into his mentality: never accept less than 100 per cent effort, keep your focus.
Of the three big names that were out of contract this summer – Mohamed Salah signed a two-year deal last week, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future remains uncertain – Van Dijk was always viewed as the easiest deal to thrash out.
Easiest but not easy.
On January 29, 2024, Van Dijk was first asked about his contract – which at that point had 18 months to run – and said: ‘That's a big question. I don't know.’ He went on to add that he wanted to see the direction in which the club was heading before committing.
It soon became apparent that he liked the direction of travel under new head coach Arne Slot and the Dutchman wanted to stay on.
He had interest from elsewhere, though. Mail Sport can reveal Chelsea were one of the clubs who explored the idea of signing him on a free transfer this summer – but the feeling they got back is that he was going to sign a new deal at Liverpool.
Paris Saint-Germain were also mooted but that was a bit of a non-starter, too. Images of Van Dijk chatting away to PSG sporting director Luis Campos after a match at Anfield sparked widespread rumours but they were just that: rumours. It was just a friendly natter.
Slot impressed Van Dijk and the feeling was mutual, though the first six weeks of the head coach’s reign saw him working without his captain. His compatriot did not report to training until August 5 due to his participation in the European Championships.
That tournament, in Germany, is also said to have played a part in Van Dijk’s desire to stay at Liverpool. A semi-final defeat to England hit him hard and took some time to get over – but the result was added motivation to remain at the top level for several more years.
He will be 35 by the time of the World Cup final in New Jersey next summer but the Breda-born defender sees no reason why he cannot lead the Netherlands in that tournament.
Slot and Van Dijk had spoken on the phone several times before their first session together but the boss wanted to give his international stars space to enjoy their tournaments. When the captain did return to training, though, Slot was taken aback.
‘Before I worked with Virgil, I always said I no longer believe in the concept of a leader,’ Slot told Dutch TV earlier this season. ‘But Virgil is someone who constantly makes sure the boys are there and is the leader in coaching. He gives a good example in training and in the gym.’
He is described as a more hands-on leader than Jordan Henderson or James Milner were and one that maintains relationships with the whole squad. His best friends in the group are Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate but everyone looks up to him.
His leadership extends beyond Liverpool. Last summer, he wrote a personal letter to each squad member of the Netherlands’ Euros bid, each with a hand-written message of inspiration, encouragement and motivation.
It is for these reasons just as much as his stellar on-pitch values – the undisputed best defender in the league, probably the world – that Liverpool were desperate to extend his deal. Yes, he turns 34 in July, but he is showing no signs of slowing down.
Negotiations for his new deal were led by Richard Hughes, the sporting director. The hierarchy was clear in their desire to extend Van Dijk’s deal not long after Hughes moved to Liverpool from Bournemouth. The opening offer went in last summer.
There was a lot of back and forth between the club and Van Dijk’s representatives led by Neil Fewings at ROOF Agency around the semantics of offers – but a breakthrough was finally found at the end of March.
Unlike Salah, who had been outspoken about the lack of progress in his deal, Van Dijk has remained calm. This may have been just a public persona but sources say his uber-focused mind, bothered about only making this a memorable season, remained in private too.
Van Dijk is said to see no reason why he cannot perform at the top level for a further three or four years.
He is a big believer in sports science and his interest on this side of the game perhaps stemmed from his time working with Amsterdam-based physiotherapist Sjoerd Sluijs during his time injured four years ago.
Van Dijk has his own private team to help with nutrition, body recovery and gym work. He gets his kids involved in his recovery days at home in the swimming pool and enjoys aquacycling, essentially an exercise bike underwater. Saunas and ice baths are on the agenda regularly.
The nutritionists at Liverpool’s HQ keep Van Dijk on his toes with some whacky smoothies and protein shakes, with ginger shots also a daily habit.
One of his hobbies is listening to podcasts from sporting greats such as LeBron James, Tom Brady and Roger Federer. You will notice the trend with those three – all athletes at the top of their game until their late 30s at the very least. Van Dijk wants to emulate them.
He also loves life in the north west and it was never a serious consideration for him to leave. His children are settled here, he recently enjoyed watching his daughter in a Fantastic Mr Fox theatre production.
Even if Van Dijk was past his best, his leadership on the training pitch – some describe him as ‘an extension of Slot’ – are worth keeping him around for.
With this deal, Liverpool have not just signed on the best defender in the world… but the best captain too.