Virgil Van Dijk Responds To Wayne Rooney After Man Utd Legend Calls Him Out

Virgil van Dijk has responded to Wayne Rooney criticising the Dutchman for a perceived lack of leadership.

Ahead of Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday, a game which marked the Reds’ first Premier League win since 20 September, Rooney had been critical of Reds talismen Van Dijk and Mo Salah.

The former United, Everton and England striker told his BBC podcast: "Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, they've signed new deals but I don't think they've really led that team this season."

And Van Dijk was measured in his reply following the win over Villa, insisting it was easy to lay the blame at the foot of the team’s most experienced players.

“I didn’t hear him last year,” Van Dijk said via TNT Sports. “No, it doesn't hurt me to be honest.

“Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many,

“I can say only positive things but I feel that comment is just I would say it's a bit of a lazy criticism.

“That's my personal opinion. It's easy to blame the other players but he knows obviously as well as everyone else we do it together trying to help each and every one of us to try to get out of this and, like I said as well, last year when things go well you don't hear that at all. It is what it is.

"[Pundits] have to do that job as well, so it is what it is. Like I said, he has an opinion and we have to deal with it. And there's no hard feelings, by the way. I don't take it personally whatsoever."

Van Dijk continued: "I think it's a funny thing, isn't it? Because last year we didn't hear anything about this [criticism], because obviously things were going well, and we were also seen as the leaders, and this year when things are not going as well as we want so far the last couple of weeks, then we're not doing our job properly.

"So that's the life we live. We feel that responsibility. We want to lead by example. Obviously I can only speak for myself in this case, by the way. I know I'm the captain, I know that if we do not have the best results or not great performances, then myself and the manager will definitely always be questioned. That's part and parcel, you know.

"And that's what comes with it. I want to perform, not for myself, but for the team, for the club. That's what I've been doing for all those years. I want to win things, I want to win games especially, and I've been very fortunate to win so many games with the club, especially here at home.

"And when there are difficult moments, I try to help my team-mates. I try to put them in front of me and want to make them perform as in the best possible shape and then when things don’t go well then that's the world we live in and people question loads of stuff, especially when you lose.

"How many did we lose? Six in the last seven, yeah. So you know, there are so many platforms nowadays that everyone can say whatever they like and it gets blown up.

"I've mentioned it after previous games, we have to stick together, focus on the task ahead, winning games, that's the only thing we can control. And it's very, it's not easy to do that for everyone, but for me I'm mature enough and I have a very stable life that I will be able to do so."