Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney said he “stands by” his criticism of Virgil van Dijk after the Liverpool captain described his comments that the Reds lacked leadership this season as “lazy”.
Rooney singled out Van Dijk and his colleague Mohamed Salah last week when discussing Liverpool’s recent poor form, saying that the duo’s body language this term was “not correct.”
When asked about Rooney’s comments after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday, Van Dijk said: “I can only say positive things (about Rooney), but I feel that comment is just lazy criticism.”
“This is my personal opinion. It is easy to blame all the players but he clearly knows, like everyone else, that we are doing this together, and we are trying to help each one of us try to get out of this situation.”
Rooney has since doubled down on his comments but admitted he has “full respect” for the Liverpool defender.
Speaking on the latest episode of the BBC’s Wayne Rooney Show, the England legend said: “Virgil van Dijk is similar to Salah, you know, over the last five years he has been one of, if not the best defender in the world, and last year it was difficult to say anything bad because they were good, and he was very good.”
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“I’m sure he would come out and tell you, he probably hasn’t been at his best this season, if he’s honest with himself. And as a captain, your job as a captain, if things aren’t going well, is to talk to your teammates, call meetings with your teammates, and that’s really what I was saying. You know, as a captain, as a leader, I’m sure he was doing that,” he said.
“I have complete respect for Virgil. I think he’s a fantastic player. My job now as an analyst is to give my opinions on how I feel. I’m sure if you asked him or Arne Slott, he probably hasn’t been as good as he has been over the last few years. That was my comment that I stand by.”
