Uncomfortable moment as Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk hits back at Wayne Rooney criticism

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk couldn’t resist a little dig back at pundit Wayne Rooney after some of his recent comments criticising the Dutchman’s performances.

Van Dijk has been a star player for Liverpool for many years, but he’s been one of a number of their key names to struggle in recent times.

It’s not been the best start to the season for the Reds, though they have bounced back a little with two wins in a row after previously going on an awful run of six defeats from seven games.

Rooney recently singled out Van Dijk for criticism on his BBC podcast, and the pair were brought together on Amazon Prime Video’s coverage of last night’s game.

Speaking after last night’s 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League, Van Dijk said some of the criticism he’d faced had been over the top.

The Netherlands international was standing right next to Rooney at the time, with the pundit taking the opportunity to defend his comments.

Watch below for the slightly awkward exchange, as Van Dijk also didn’t back down, saying it was his personal opinion that Rooney’s comments were over the top…

Van Dijk responds to Wayne Rooney’s criticism ? pic.twitter.com/L4gylSrxFl

— LFCTact (@LFCTactico) November 4, 2025

“Of course, if you lose four or five games in a row as a Liverpool player then it is a fair criticism, that is absolutely normal in that sense,” Van Dijk said.

“But I think it is over the top at times as well at that point, but that is because we live in a world with so many platforms and so many people can say stuff, it will be picked up and made bigger.

“I think it is good that ex-players who played at the highest level who dealt with difficult moments as well puts a lot in perspective.”

Rooney then responded: “I think what I’ve said was fair when you win the Premier League and then go on a run where you lose three or four games in a row, which you don’t expect from Liverpool over the last few years.

“As Virgil is captain I think that is your opportunity to go and lead the players and that is what I was saying. That happens in football and I think the response has been great from Virgil and the team.”

And finally, Van Dijk added: “I think if you watched games then I would definitely take responsibility. I think the comment that I signed my new deal and then it was like ‘that is it’ and I let it slide, I think that was a bit… but that’s my personal opinion and we move on.”

Van Dijk will certainly be pleased to have silenced his critics last night as he put in a strong performance to help LFC to a hugely impressive and important win over one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

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