* **Years:** 2018-present
* **Appearances:** 374
* **Goals:** 36
* **Trophies:** Champions League (2019), UEFA Super Cup (2019), FIFA Club World Cup (2019), Premier League (2019-20, 2024-25), League Cup (2022, 2024), FA Cup (2022)
Virgil van Dijk’s commanding performances have underpinned Liverpool’s modern successes and established the Dutchman as one of the club’s greatest players.
Signed from Southampton in January 2018 for a fee in the region of £75m, the defender was a transformative addition to the team being built by [**Jürgen Klopp**](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/info/jurgen-klopp).
His transfer to the Reds was famously revealed via a picture of Van Dijk holding an LFC shirt in front of a Christmas tree – and what a gift he proved to be.
The tone for his career at Anfield was set in his first appearance, with the new No.4 scoring a winning header in front of the Kop to decide a Merseyside derby in the FA Cup.
Strong, calm, aerially dominant, quick, graceful and skilled in passing long or short, Van Dijk offered the complete package as a modern central defender.
* [**COMPETITION: Win our special Liverpool's Greatest retro bundle**](https://profile.liverpoolfc.com/en/account/prize-draws/win-a-retro-bundle?lfm_medium=site-link&lfm_source=liverpoolfc.com&lfm_content=news-story&lfm_campaign=club-liverpools-greatest-vote-2627&lfm_proposition=lfc)
He helped Liverpool reach the Champions League final during his initial half-season and though it ended in defeat by Real Madrid, the experience was a stepping stone to greatness.
Van Dijk played in every league game during 2018-19 as Klopp’s men totalled 97 points but were denied the title by Manchester City in a major tussle.
Ample consolation awaited in Madrid on June 1, 2019 as the Reds defeated Tottenham Hotspur to lift their sixth European Cup – Van Dijk having produced a vital headed goal at Bayern Munich in the knockouts.
‘Imperious’ had become his par.
That sensational standard was acknowledged by being voted PFA Players’ Player of the Year and earning a remarkable second-placed finish in that year’s Ballon d’Or, missing out on the accolade marginally to Lionel Messi.
Van Dijk was again ever-present in the Premier League across a 2019-20 campaign prolonged by, and completed amid, the COVID-19 pandemic. It ended with Liverpool on 99 points and champions for the first time in three decades.