Wayne Rooney wrong again as Rio Ferdinand explains what he ‘loves’ about Virgil van Dijk

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Wayne Rooney has criticised Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool but recent actions from the Dutchman show his verdict was harsh.

The Reds beat Aston Villa 2-0 on Saturday, ending their long wait for a Premier League victory.

It came after a tricky spell that included discussions about Arne Slot’s future at Liverpool and criticism from outside Anfield.

Among those to comment on the issues on the red half of Merseyside was former Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney.

Virgil van Dijk responds to Wayne Rooney’s comments

Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show last week, the ex-striker questioned Van Dijk’s leadership.

He said: “This is a time where the manager and the leaders in the team need to figure it out very quickly.

“Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, they’ve signed new deals but I don’t think they’ve really led that team this season.

“I think body language tells you a lot, and I think we’re seeing slightly different body language from the two of them. They are the top two players in that team and if their body language is not right, that affects everyone else.”

The Dutchman then responded to the criticism, dubbing it ‘lazy’, as per The Guardian.

He said: “I didn’t hear him last year. It doesn’t hurt me. Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things, but I feel that comment is just a bit of a lazy criticism.

“It’s easy to blame the older players but he knows as well as everyone else that we do it together and try to help each other to get out of this. There are so many platforms nowadays that everyone can say whatever they like and it gets blown up.”

Rio Ferdinand’s comments highlight Virgil van Dijk’s leadership

Actions speak louder than words, however, and since those comments were made, the Liverpool stopper has stepped up in a leadership capacity on a couple of occasions.

Firstly, during Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, youngster Amara Nallo was shown a red card, his second in as many senior appearances for the Reds.

Despite not being included in the matchday squad, Van Dijk was in attendance and immediately went down to the tunnel to speak with the young star, earning praise from Slot in the process.

The Liverpool manager said: “I didn’t need to say much [on Nallo’s sending off]. Ibou and Virgil went in immediately to talk to him. That tells me they are great human beings.”

Now, on his podcast, Rio Ferdinand Presents, the ex-Man Utd centre-back has come out in support of Van Dijk for how he is publicly responding to criticism.

He said: “I absolutely love that Virgil van Dijk, the captain of Liverpool is coming out and saying, I ain’t having what people are saying, I don’t agree with that and I don’t agree with that. I think it’s brilliant. This is what you want.

“This is what you need. You need players of character, a bit of person. Now, whether you agree with him or not, it’s a different conversation.

“But I like the fact that he’s prickly and he reads it and he sees it, he hears it and he goes, no, I’m not having that and I want to call it out.”

There has been a lot of outside noise at Liverpool in the last few weeks, but Van Dijk has really stepped up as one of the senior figures in the side.