Wayne Rooney Reveals Truth About Awkward Viral Interview with Virgil van Dijk

Wayne Rooney has reflected on his awkward on-air exchange with Virgil van Dijk, admitting that one of the comments he made ahead of the Amazon Prime interview was "unfair".

One of the big talking points from Tuesday night's Champions League coverage involved Virgil van Dijk and Wayne Rooney.

In recent weeks, Rooney has called out the Dutch defender on numerous occasions. He singled out Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah for their leadership and body language during Liverpool's recent slump.

And ahead of their clash against Real Madrid – after Van Dijk responded to his suggestion as "lazy" – Rooney doubled down on his criticism.

"I've got full respect for Virgil. I think he's a fantastic player. My job now as a pundit is to give my opinions on what I feel," said Rooney. "I'm sure if you ask him or Arne Slot, he probably hasn't been as good as he has been over the last few years. That was my comment which I stick by."

Just days later and Rooney came head-to-head with Van Dijk after Liverpool's 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League. It was a tense affair, with the defender calling out Rooney's "over the top" criticism of him.

Now, the former England international has opened up on the exchange while speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show.

After saying he was blindsided by Van Dijk's cameo after teammate Dominik Szoboszlai was scheduled to perform media duties, Rooney described his claim that the Dutchman had "downed tools" after signing a new contract as "unfair".

"I think Van Dijk, his issue was – maybe I was a bit unfair on that because I don't know him as a person. I said he got his new contract and he looked like down to it a little bit," said Rooney.

"So maybe I was a little bit unfair on that comment, but from a performance point of view, I think I was speaking what I felt and what I was seeing and I think I was right on them."

Wayne Rooney opens up about Van Dijk interview

In a lengthy segment on his BBC podcast, Rooney spoke in depth about his exchange with the Liverpool captain, who made an unexpected post-match appearance at Anfield.

"I thought he was good that night, and I had loads of people say, 'Oh, when he came up to you,' I think fair play to him for coming out," Rooney began.

"We didn’t know he was coming out. It was meant to be [Dominik] Szoboszlai, I think, to come to the table. But I think fair play to him, he came out and he put his point across.

"Listen, Virgil van Dijk over the last five, four years has been one of, if not, the best centre-backs in the world, and his performances have dipped over the last few weeks.

"I’ve had my opinion on that; he has his own, which you have to respect. But when you’re the Premier League champions, teams are coming for you, and when you don’t win one game, people ask questions.

"So, when you don’t win four games in a row, of course, there are questions of the captain. I think I said it a few weeks ago on here, what he should be and he will be doing is getting the players together.

"I think he said that he got the players together and took them for a meal or something, trying to bring that chemistry back, and that’s what I was saying he should be doing as a captain, and he’s done that. It certainly seemed to help in the Madrid game.

"He’s a fantastic player, but he hasn’t started the season great. You want to see good players playing well, and he performed well [against Real Madrid]. So, for him, I’m sure for Liverpool, he hopes that continues."

Asked when he realised that the Liverpool captain would come out instead of Szoboszlai, Rooney replied: "When he was there, and I think it's great. No disrespect to Szoboszlai, but I'd rather speak to Van Dijk."

He added: "I think the issue is, when you're you don't play well and you're not winning games, as Premier League champions, everyone's going to have an opinion.

"And, of course, when you're not playing well or you're not winning games that opinion, they're going to look at why and give their thoughts why. Liverpool can use this in two different ways: they can let it affect them, or they can use it to spur them on.

"You look at Man United over the last few years, the criticism that they've had. I played the game, I was captain of England, captain of Man United. I got criticized for for all kinds.

"That's part of being a top player. You have to deal with that. You have to accept it at times. Listen, I was unfair with my comments, I'd be the first to hold me hands up.

"Same way I did with Man United when I had a rant about them and then they won games, and I come back on that. If I was unfair, I'd be fair to hold my hands up.

"He's sat at home now, when he reflects on his performances this season, I'm sure he'd be the first to say they haven't been at the level which he set over the last few years. The best players, top players, which Van Dijk is, use that to spur them on."