Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk worries about the impact on the quality of the sport due to fixture overload, and the pressure on players individually.
The centre-back is also concerned about the mental impact due to a lack of sufficient rest during the course of this season.
He has been a regular for both Liverpool and the Netherlands this season. Van Dijk has played 4,041 minutes from 45 matches for the Premier League side and 630 minutes for the national team.
The Liverpool player is the outfield player to have played the most minutes [2,790] in the Premier League this season.
Last Friday, he played 90 minutes in Oranje’s 2-1 win over Norway at the Amsterdam ArenA. His 35th minute goal helped the Netherlands equalise, after Andreas Schjelderup gave the visitors the lead.
After the tie, the Liverpool defender spoke to the Norwegian media and Monday’s edition of Stavanger Aftenblad relays his comments.
Van Dijk worried where football is heading
Norway manager Ståle Solbakken rested Manchester City star Erling Haaland for the clash against the Netherlands. Virgil van Dijk was eager to face the Etihad striker but ended up in a disappointment.
“Yes, of course. We spoke a couple of weeks ago, and we both expected him to play today. The coach decided with him that he should be rested, and I can understand that, because there are so many matches these days,” he said.
The 34-year-old then goes on talk about the impact of fixture congestion on personally and the sport.
“But it is intense. What can I say? I think it has been said by several people that if we continue like this, the quality of football will decrease due to the number of matches played,” Van Dijk explained.
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“I’m not the youngest anymore, but for the new generation it will be very interesting to see how it goes. That’s because there are a lot of young players playing at the absolute highest level. They have already played so many games.
“That’s another discussion that I don’t want to go into now. However, I’m definitely aware of the mental aspect, and that’s something that I find very worrying.”
Liverpool star won’t get rest anytime soon
Arne Slot’s side are in contention to win the Champions League and face Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter final. The Reds also face Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter final.
Liverpool have seven matches left in the Premier League, where they are fifth in the table, a point ahead of sixth placed Chelsea.
Virgil van Dijk is likely to feature in all these fixtures until the end of the season. After that, he will play at least three matches for the Netherlands at the World Cup, after preparation friendlies, and it’ll be more if they make it to the next round.
In short, the Dutchman won’t be able to have sufficient rest between matches for the next few months.
🇳🇱 Giovanni van Bronckhorst | Won’t rule out Feyenoord return
💬 “Who knows what the future holds”
➡️ Happy at Liverpool as things stand
➡️ Clearly fond of Dutch club https://t.co/CLUT5qTfXL #lfc
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) March 27, 2026