Wayne Rooney was caught off guard when Virgil van Dijk put himself forward for an interview on Amazon Prime after Liverpool's 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League
Wayne Rooney on The Wayne Rooney Show with BBC Sport
Wayne Rooney has recalled his chat with Virgil van Dijk at Anfield
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Image: The Wayne Rooney Show - BBC Sport)
Wayne Rooney has recalled his conversation with Virgil van Dijk at Anfield on Tuesday night. Following Liverpool's 1-0 win over in the , the Reds defender confronted the legend about the comments he had made about his teammates.
Speaking on , Rooney commended Van Dijk for defending his club. The 40-year-old said: "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.
"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 , 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 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.
Virgil van Dijk and Wayne Rooney
Virgil van Dijk and Wayne Rooney
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Image:
Amazon Prime Video)
"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 , he hopes that continues."
Rooney was caught off guard when Van Dijk put himself forward for an interview on Amazon Prime. The United legend was expecting Szoboszlai to walk out of the dressing room.
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Rooney was asked when he realised that the Liverpool captain would come out. He replied: "When he was there, and I think it's great. No disrespect to Szoboszlai, but I'd rather speak to Van Dijk."
The United legend 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."
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