Liverpool Star Virgil Van Dijk Is A 'More Complete' Player Than Nemanja Vidic

Chelsea hero Frank Leboeuf has branded Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk as a "more complete" player than Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic.

Van Dijk, 29, has been widely praised for his incredible impact at Liverpool since the Reds splashed out a whopping £75m to land him from Southampton in 2018.

The Dutch centre-back has since won the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool, along with being named the PFA Players' Player of the Year for the 2018-19 season.

Fans have frequently been involved in heated debates surrounding Van Dijk and Vidic over their respective impact in the Premier League.

And Leboeuf has weighed in on that debate and insisted that he holds high admiration for the 38-year-old Serbian.

However, the former Chelsea star doesn't believe that Vidic "can lead the team" like Van Dijk does.

Leboeuf told ESPN: "I would go for Van Dijk. I think he's more complete.

"I loved Vidic, because he was a dog, and a fantastic defender. But Van Dijk can lead the team and has range, long balls.

"I don't think Vidic was capable of doing that. Hats off to Vidic, though."

Vidic is widely considered as one of the best defenders in the Premier League's history after forging a formidable partnership with Rio Ferdinand at United.

However, even Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany has backed the idea that Van Dijk is the best defender in Premier League history.

"I would bring it back to Virgil van Dijk," he told SPORF.

"It's a weird one because he hasn't been on the scene as long as these names we have mentioned: John Terry, Rio Ferdinand. These guys were there for a long time.

"But the signs he has showed in his last few years just make it so obvious that if he would have been at the top level before that he would have already gone further as well.

"From what I've seen in terms of having an impact on a team, and a defender is never about himself it's about communication with other guys and how you make your team more solid.

"The Liverpool before Van Dijk and the one after him, it's a completely different setup and I'll give him that one because of that."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Liverpool, Football News, Football, Manchester United, Nemanja Vidic, REds, red devils, Premier League, Virgil Van Dijk

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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