Virgil van Dijk (; born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for and captains both club

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation and one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history, he is known for his strength, leadership, speed and aerial ability. After beginning his professional career with

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, Van Dijk moved to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in 2013. At Celtic, he won the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

and was named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year in both of his seasons with the club, and won the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

in the second. In 2015, he joined

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

before signing for Liverpool in January 2018 for £75 million, a then- world-record transfer fee for a defender. With Liverpool, Van Dijk reached back-to-back

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

finals in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, winning the latter. He was also named

PFA Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...

and the Premier League Player of the Season in his first full season. Van Dijk later won the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

and

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

, and helped end the club's 30-year league title drought by winning the

2019–20 Premier League The 2019–20 Premier League was the 28th season of the Premier League, the top English professional association football, football league, since its establishment in 1992, and the 121st season of top-flight English football overall. The season ...

. He is the only defender to win the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award, and has finished runner-up for both the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

and Best FIFA Men's Player, all in 2019. Van Dijk has also been selected in the FIFPRO Men's World 11 in four different years. Van Dijk represented the Netherlands at under-19 and under-21 levels. He made his senior international debut for the Netherlands in 2015 and assumed full

captaincy A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish colonies, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule admin ...

of the national team in March 2018. The following year, Van Dijk captained the Netherlands to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the inaugural

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

, where they finished runners-up. He also captained his side to the quarter-finals of the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

and the semi-finals of

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

Early life

Van Dijk was born in

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

to a Dutch father, Ron van Dijk, and a Surinamese mother, Hellen Chin Fo Sieeuw, who is

Afro-Surinamese Afro-Surinamese are the inhabitants of Suriname of mostly West African and Central African ancestry. They are descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations. Many of them escaped the plantations and formed independent sett ...

and part of Chinese descent. The Chinese surname ''Chin Fo Sieeuw'' derives from the given name of his maternal great-grandfather, Chin Fo Sieeuw (), who emigrated from

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

around 1920. He has a younger brother and sister, who are two and ten years younger than him respectively. Van Dijk grew up in Kesteren, in the Haagse Beemden district of

. His father left the family when he was 11 years old. Van Dijk first lived with his father for a while before making the choice to go back to live with his mother, after which his father broke off contact. Growing up he played football wherever he could – on the streets, in concrete cages, and eventually Saturday morning matches. He started playing football in the youth team at WDS'19 before joining Willem II at the age of 8. He combined his time playing at the Willem II academy with a part-time job as a dishwasher as a teenager. He said: "I didn't have a contract at that time. I wasn't thinking I had no future in the game, but I also knew I had to work, to try to make money." Having previously and unsuccessfully featured as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, Van Dijk was shifted into a central defensive position in 2008, aged 17, after he grew in height by around 18 centimetres. Despite the positional shift and Van Dijk's physical growth, Willem II's reserve manager at the time Edwin Hermans believed he had "too many limitations" which prevented him from breaking into the first team. The club therefore did not want to offer him a contract. He left for

at the age of 19 in 2010, on a free transfer, after being scouted by former Dutch international Martin Koeman, who was working for Groningen at the time.

Club career

Groningen

Van Dijk initially struggled to break into Groningen's first team with club staff believing he was "overtired" after extensive playing time with Willem II's academy and reserve sides. He made his professional debut for the club on 1 May 2011, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for Petter Andersson during a 4–2 victory against

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

. On 29 May, and against the same opposition, he made his first start for Groningen and scored his first professional goals, netting twice in a 5–1 win in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

play-off match. During the

2011–12 Eredivisie The 2011–12 Eredivisie is the 56th season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. It began in August 2011 with the first matches of the season and ended in June with the last matches of the European competition and relegation playoffs. ...

season, Van Dijk made 23 league appearances for the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

team, and scored his first regular-season goal during the club's 6–0 victory over

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

on 30 October 2011. He suffered a personal setback during the campaign, however, as soon after his 20th birthday he was admitted to hospital with advanced appendicitis,

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

and kidney poisoning. The ailments were previously not recognised by the medical staff of Groningen and the local hospital. Van Dijk underwent an urgent lifesaving operation, after which he spent 13 days in hospital, lost nearly two and a half stones (35 pounds), and could not walk for 10 days. As he had been close to dying as a result of the medical emergency, the hospital had even gone so far as to ask him to sign a "sort of

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

" in the event of his passing. It took Van Dijk a few months to fully recover. In the summer of 2012, he returned and joined the selection again. Despite the fact that the club had a changeable season, Van Dijk, who played in the center of defence together with veteran Kees Kwakman, excelled. In the summer of 2013, Van Dijk was a candidate to strengthen PSV's defence, but the club ultimately opted for Jeffrey Bruma as the new central defender. A transfer to Brighton & Hove Albion FC or

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

, both of which wanted to meet the asking price of Groningen director Hans Nijland, were rejected by Van Dijk himself. Van Dijk, who actually preferred a transfer to a Dutch top club, contacted

Marc Overmars Marc Overmars (; born 29 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer and former director of football at Belgian First Division A, Belgian Pro League side Royal Antwerp F.C. He was previously director of football a ...

himself via director Nijland and his agent to discuss a possible transfer to

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

. However, the club, which was on the market for a new central defender at the time, decided not to accept Van Dijk's advances and eventually signed Mike van der Hoorn from

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Celtic

2013–14 season

On 21 June 2013, Van Dijk signed with

for a fee of around £2.6 million, on a four-year deal including a 10% selling-on fee for Groningen. He made his debut on 17 August, replacing Efe Ambrose for the final 13 minutes of a 2–0

win over

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

at Pittodrie. A week later, he made his first start, in a 2–2 draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

. On 9 November, Van Dijk scored his first Celtic goals, heading one in each half of a 4–1 win against Ross County. After a solo run, he scored the only goal of a victory over St Johnstone on 26 December. Van Dijk scored again on 26 January 2014, in a 4–0 win versus Hibernian for Celtic's 11th consecutive league win. On 25 February, he was sent off after 13 minutes of an eventual 2–1 loss at Aberdeen, for a professional foul on Peter Pawlett; it was Celtic's first defeat of the season. With Celtic having already won the league, Van Dijk netted again on 7 May to put his team 3–1 up away to St Johnstone, in an eventual 3–3 draw. He was one of three Celtic players named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year. Van Dijk was nominated for the PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year award, but lost out to fellow Celtic player Kris Commons.

2014–15 season

On 22 July 2014, Van Dijk and Teemu Pukki each scored twice in a 4–0 home win over KR in a

qualifier, putting their team into the next round 5–0 on aggregate. His first goal of the Premiership season came on 9 November, finishing from Stefan Johansen's last-minute corner for a 2–1 win at Aberdeen. Three weeks later, Van Dijk scored the first and last goals of Celtic's 4–0 win versus Heart of Midlothian in the fourth round of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

neighbours

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

. Van Dijk was again on target on 21 January 2015, opening a 4–0 home win over

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

. On 26 February, he was sent off in the 36th minute against

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

for a foul on Mauro Icardi, as Celtic lost 1–0 on the night, 4–3 on aggregate in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League. He was again sent off on 8 March in the Cup quarter-final away to

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

at Tannadice Park, receiving a red card after eleven minutes for a confrontation with Calum Butcher. His suspension for the following week's Scottish League Cup final was overturned on appeal, as was that of Paul Paton, who was sent off when mistaken for Butcher. Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes of the final at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

, which Celtic won 2–0. On 18 March, Celtic's third consecutive match against Dundee United, Van Dijk scored in the last minute to confirm a 4–0 win in a Cup replay. On 19 April, Celtic contested the Cup semi-final against Inverness at Hampden, and Van Dijk opened the scoring with a free kick. After the dismissal of goalkeeper Craig Gordon, Celtic fell 3–2, ending their chance of a treble. Three days later, again from a free kick, he confirmed a 2–1 win away to

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

. His team again won the league, and Van Dijk was included in the league's Team of the Season for the second consecutive campaign. He was again shortlisted for the PFA Scotland Players' Player award, but lost out to another teammate, this time Stefan Johansen. Van Dijk was reportedly "considering his future" in Glasgow after Celtic were knocked out of the

2015–16 UEFA Champions League The 2015–16 UEFA Champions League was the 61st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 24th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona were th ...

in the qualifying rounds to

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

of Sweden.

Southampton

2015–16 season

On 1 September 2015, the last day of the transfer window, Van Dijk signed a five-year contract with

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

, managed by

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Koeman scor ...

, for a reported £13 million transfer fee. Fellow Premier League clubs

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

were also reportedly interested in the last hours of the transfer window. The transfer made him the most expensive Dutch defender since Jaap Stam, who went from

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

in 2001 for more than €25 million. He made his debut for Southampton on 12 September in a 0–0 draw against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an All-seater stadium, all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F.C. ...

. Two weeks later, Van Dijk marked his third Premier League appearance with his first goal for the club, which came in the form of a header in the 11th minute to put Southampton in front, following a set-piece from James Ward-Prowse in a 3–1 home win over Swansea City. He was named player of the year by both his teammates and Southampton fans for his first season. On 7 May 2016, Van Dijk signed a new six-year contract with the Saints.

2016–17 season

On 22 January 2017, he was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of Southampton, after the departure of José Fonte. On the same day, he suffered an ankle injury against Leicester City. This ruled him out of the 2017 EFL Cup final, which Southampton lost to

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

. After a successful 2016–17 season at Southampton, Van Dijk was subject to interest from top English clubs with Chelsea,

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and

reportedly interested. Liverpool apologised to Southampton for an illegal approach for the player after he had reportedly made clear his interest in a move to Merseyside. On 7 August 2017, Van Dijk handed in a transfer request to Southampton and released a statement along with it, emphasising his wish to join a different club in the transfer window.

2017–18 season

Van Dijk remained with Southampton for the start of the 2017–18 season and made his first appearance since being injured in January, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 victory at Crystal Palace on 26 September. He made what turned out to be his final appearance for Southampton on 13 December 2017, in a 4–1 home defeat to Leicester. It was also his last appearance in any of Southampton's matchday squads, as he was omitted from the squad for the rest of his tenure at the club in light of speculation surrounding his future.

Liverpool

2017–18 season

On 27 December 2017, it was announced that Van Dijk would join Liverpool when the winter transfer window opened on 1 January 2018 for a reported fee of £75 million. Former club Celtic would receive 10% of Van Dijk's transfer fee, due to a sell-on clause placed in his Southampton contract. Southampton claimed the undisclosed transfer fee would constitute a world record fee in football for a defender. Van Dijk made his debut for Liverpool on 5 January in the third round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

and scored the winning goal with a late header in a 2–1 victory against local rivals Everton. In doing so, he became the first player since Bill White in 1901 to score on his debut in the

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is an association football match between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, two clubs based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is the longest running top-flight local derby, derby in England, with its fi ...

. Van Dijk and Dejan Lovren built a strong partnership at the heart of Liverpool's defence, with the Dutchman being credited for improving Liverpool's previous defensive issues. Van Dijk was included in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season, despite playing just half of the season in the Champions League, with the ''UEFA Technical Observers'' saying: "Van Dijk arrived at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

and provided composure and stability in the competition's knockout stages." Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes in the 2018 UEFA Champions League final against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, which Liverpool lost 3–1. Van Dijk played 22 games in all competitions in his first season with the club, scoring once.

2018–19 season

Van Dijk received the Liverpool Player of the Month award for his performances in August. On 2 December, Van Dijk was awarded an assist for the winning goal in a derby match against city rivals Everton. Liverpool won 1–0 thanks to Divock Origi's 96th-minute goal, set up by a Van Dijk volley and a subsequent error from Everton goalkeeper

Jordan Pickford Jordan Lee Pickford (' Logan; born 7 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Everton and the England national team. Pickford began his career at Sunderland, and played for their academy, reserve ...

. The Dutchman was ultimately awarded the PFA Player of the Month for November 2018. On 21 December, Van Dijk scored his first goal in the Premier League for Liverpool in a 2–0 away win against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. The Dutchman continued his impressive form in the 2018–19 season by winning the Premier League Player of the Month prize for December 2018. On 27 February 2019, Van Dijk scored twice in a 5–0 win against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. The following month, he scored once – his first goal in the Champions League for the club – and assisted another in a 3–1 win over Bayern Munich. On 20 April, he was one of six players nominated for the

award alongside teammate

Sadio Mané Sadio Mané (born 10 April 1992) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward or left winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr and the Senegal national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest African players o ...

. Four days later, he was named in the

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

alongside Liverpool teammates, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mané and Andrew Robertson. On 28 April 2019, he was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year. Following Liverpool's 2–0 victory over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

in the

2019 UEFA Champions League final The 2019 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, the 64th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA and the 27th season since it was rebranded the UEFA Champions League. ...

on 1 June, Van Dijk was named

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

's man of the match.

2019–20 season

In August 2019, Van Dijk won the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award. On 2 September 2019, he was shortlisted in the final three of the best FIFA football awards. On 23 September 2019, he was voted runner-up in

The Best FIFA Men's Player The Best FIFA Men's Player is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. The award was formerly known ...

and into the FIFA FIFpro Men's World 11. In October 2019, Van Dijk was shortlisted as one in 30 football players for the

. At the event in December, he finished runner-up behind

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

. The edition of the award was controversial in that while many believed that Messi was the justified winner of the award, many others believed that Van Dijk had been unfairly overlooked, with teammate Fabinho stating that "People always notice strikers more than defenders, but he should have won when you consider what he did individually and how he helped the team win the Champions League". On 21 December 2019, after missing the semi-final of the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup with illness, Van Dijk played in the

against

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

with Liverpool winning the trophy for the first time in the club's history. Van Dijk received further recognition following the turn of the year, when he was named in the 2019 UEFA Team of the Year. On 19 January 2020, Van Dijk scored his first North-West Derby goal against Manchester United in Liverpool's 2–0 win at Anfield in the Premier League. Over the course of the 2019–20 domestic campaign, Van Dijk started and completed every minute for Liverpool. Liverpool won the Premier League title in the 2019–20 season, their first top-flight title in 30 years.

2020–21 season

On 12 September 2020, Van Dijk scored a headed goal against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

on the opening day of the new season. On 17 October, he was substituted in the sixth minute of the

after a challenge from Everton goalkeeper

. On the following day, it was announced that he had suffered an ACL injury in his right knee and would undergo surgery. Van Dijk was expected to be out from six to twelve months. On 30 October it was announced that the surgery on his injuries had been successful. Dutch national team coach Frank de Boer had hoped that Van Dijk would be able to make his return before

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

, Van Dijk however decided that he should continue his rehabilitation so he could start the next season fully fit.

2021–22 season

Van Dijk made his first appearance in over nine months on 29 July 2021, coming on as a second-half substitute in a pre-season friendly against

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

. On 13 August 2021, Van Dijk signed a new four-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2025. His first goal for Liverpool in over 14 months came against his former club Southampton, when he hit a volley from a corner. On 27 February 2022, Van Dijk helped Liverpool win the 2021–22 EFL Cup, scoring his penalty in the shoot-out over Chelsea after a goalless draw in normal time. His performances during the 2021–22 season earned him a place in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year. Van Dijk earned a runners-up medal in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, losing the final to Real Madrid, and was selected as part of the Team of the Season. Liverpool narrowly missed out on the chance to achieve a historic quadruple, coming second in the

and the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League but winning both the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

and the

2022–23 season

On 29 October 2022, Liverpool lost 2–1 at home to

which was Van Dijk's first home defeat at

in the Premier League after 70 games since joining the club in January 2018. Van Dijk was criticised for a number of performances in the 2022–23 season but soon regained his authoritative defensive traits with a performance against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

which led to him being voted Man of the Match by

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

users. At the end of the 2022–23 season, Liverpool narrowly missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification.

2023–24 season

On 31 July 2023, following the departure of Jordan Henderson, Van Dijk was named as Liverpool's new captain. On 27 August, Van Dijk was given his first Liverpool red card following a foul on

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

's Alexander Isak. Initially, Van Dijk refused to leave the pitch and swore at referee John Brooks. Van Dijk was handed a one-match ban for the contentious red card, but was given an additional game ban after he admitted to acting in an 'improper manner' towards a match official. He was also fined £100,000 for his use of abusive words. On 25 February 2024, he won his first trophy as Liverpool captain and scored the only goal from a header in extra time of a 1–0 victory over Chelsea in the EFL Cup final. In the process, he was adjudged the man of the match and won the Alan Hardaker Trophy for the second time in his career, making him the fourth person to do so, along with

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional Coach (association football), football coach and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, the En ...

Vincent Kompany Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He is currently the head coach of ...

and Ben Foster.

2024–25 season

Van Dijk entered the final season of his club contract with no clear idea regarding his future at Liverpool. On 21 October, it was reported he began talks with the club about a new deal. In his 290th appearance for Liverpool, a 1–0 win over

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

in the UEFA Champions League in December 2024, Van Dijk became the first Liverpool player to reach 200 wins in under 300 appearances. On 17 April 2025, Van Dijk signed a two-year contract extension, six days after Mohamed Salah also extended his contract.

International career

Youth career

On 12 May 2010, Van Dijk made his debut for the Netherlands U19 in a friendly against South Korea U19. Then on 14 November 2011, Van Dijk made his debut for the Netherlands U21 in a qualifying match against Scotland U21 and played a further two friendlies for the team.

Senior career

Van Dijk was selected for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

senior squad three times in 2014, but did not make his debut until 10 October 2015, when the Netherlands beat

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

2–1 in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier. Three days later, he played in a 3–2 home loss to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

which ensured the Netherlands would not qualify for

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

. He played six of the Netherlands' ten matches in their unsuccessful

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

qualification campaign. Van Dijk was awarded the captaincy of his country by manager

on 22 March 2018, leading the team for the first time in a 1–0 home friendly defeat by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

the next day. On 26 March, he scored his first international goal to conclude a 3–0 win over European champions

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

at the

Stade de Genève Stade de Genève (Stadium of Geneva), also called Stade de la Praille, is a stadium in Lancy, Canton of Geneva. It has a capacity of 30,084. Overview The stadium was completed in 2003 by Implenia, Zschokke Construction S.A. after nearly three y ...

. On 13 October, he scored in a 3–0 win over

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the group stage of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. On 19 November, he scored a 91st minute equalising goal in a 2–2 draw away to the same opposition to qualify the Netherlands from their Nations League group.Hoe een simpel briefje de avond van Oranje redde
, NOS.nl 20 November 2018 In June 2019, Van Dijk captained the Netherlands at the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where they finished as runner-up after being beaten 1–0 by host nation Portugal in the

on 9 June. In May 2021, Van Dijk ruled himself out of playing in the postponed

to have enough time to recover after a long-term injury since October 2020. In November 2022, Van Dijk was announced as the Dutch captain for the

. He led his team to the top of

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

with wins over

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and hosts

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. In the quarter-final match against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, Van Dijk took the first kick of the tie-breaking

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

which was saved by Argentine goalkeeper

Emiliano Martínez Damián Emiliano Martínez Romero (born 2 September 1992), also known as Dibu, is an Argentine professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa a ...

as the Dutch were beaten 4–3 in

Lusail Lusail (, , ) is the second-largest city in Qatar after Doha, and the economic capital of Qatar, located on the coast, in the southern part of the municipality of Al Daayen. Lusail lies about north of the Doha city centre, just north of the West ...

. In June 2023, Van Dijk was part of the Netherlands' squad for the

2023 UEFA Nations League Finals The 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League, 2022–23 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the third season of the international Association football, football competition involving the men's ...

, where he captained the team against both

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in the semi-final and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the third place play-off. On 29 May 2024, Van Dijk was named in the Netherlands' squad for

Style of play

Van Dijk is a physically strong, right-footed

, who usually features on the left-hand side of central defence, although he can also play as a right-sided centre-back. He is gifted with pace, good technique, and an eye for goal, and is an effective set-piece taker. Regarding his ability, former Celtic teammate Kris Commons commented that Van Dijk was "comfortable on the ball", also noting that "He had good technique and a wonderful right foot. He was good on set-pieces, some of the free-kicks he scored for Celtic are absolute wonders. He could read the game well. He had an aura about him, a confidence, because I think he knew he was good." Neil McGuinness, senior scout at Celtic when Van Dijk was signed, called him "everything you would want if you could create a profile of the ideal central defender", praising him as a "very smooth ball-playing defender" who possesses aerial prowess, skills from dead ball situations, and "strong leadership qualities", while commenting that since his move to England, he is "more tactically aware now ..his anticipation and timing has improved and he is a lot more of an all-rounder". McGuinness believes Van Dijk's "biggest problem" is that he "can switch off when the game is comfortable". In 2018, Steve Douglas of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' described Van Dijk with the following words: "Powerful in the air, measured with the ball at his feet, quick, and with superb positional sense, van Dijk 'sic''has it all." Dario Pergolizzi also described Van Dijk as a good marker in 2019. In a 2019 interview with '' Marca'', when Lionel Messi was asked why Van Dijk was so difficult to beat, the Argentine responded: "He is a defender who knows how to judge his timing and wait for the right moment to challenge or jockey he attacker He is very fast and big, but he has a lot of agility for his height. He is fast because of its icgreat stride, and he is impressive both in defence and attack because he scores lots of goals." That same year, Paul Merson described Van Dijk as "the best in the world, and I think by a long way, as a defensive centre-half." In 2020,

called Van Dijk the best centre-back to ever appear in the Premier League, claiming the Liverpool "before Van Dijk and the other after him, it's a completely different setup". In 2022,

Erling Haaland Erling Braut Haaland (, ; born 21 July 2000) is a Norwegian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and the Norway national football te ...

named Van Dijk the best defender he has played against, calling him "fast, strong and 'bad' smart", as well as praising his timing. In 2023, Ben Foster claimed that Van Dijk was the "best defender that has ever lived" during his pre-injury run with Liverpool. In 2024, Van Dijk revealed that while his childhood favourite team used to be

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, his biggest inspiration as a defender was

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

's center back Alessandro Nesta. He had also named

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

as his favourite player of all time, who in turn called Van Dijk the best defender of his generation.

Sponsorship

Van Dijk features as the cover star of the champions edition of

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

' ''FIFA'' video game '' FIFA 20''. He is endorsed by sportswear company Nike.

Personal life

Van Dijk commonly uses only his

first name First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared an ...

on the kit. According to his uncle Steven, this is because of a

family feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. Two families compete on each episode to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, the ...

with his father, who abandoned his family during van Dijk's childhood. Van Dijk met his wife Rike Nooitgedagt when he was 20 and they have been married since the summer of 2017. The couple's first child was born 2014, they now have four children.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Van Dijk goal.''

Honours

Celtic *

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

: 2014–15 Liverpool *

: 2019–20, 2024–25 *

: 2021–22 *

: 2021–22, 2023–24; runner-up: 2024–25 *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

: 2018–19; runner-up: 2017–18, 2021–22 *

Individual *

: 2018–19 *

2018–19 Premier League The 2018–19 Premier League was the 27th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the 120th season of top-flight English football overall. The season ...

2021–22 Premier League The 2021–22 Premier League was the 30th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992, and the 123rd season of top-flight English football overall. The start a ...

, 2023–24 Premier League * Premier League Player of the Season: 2018–19 *Premier League Player of the Year by Northwest Football Awards: 2019 * Alan Hardaker Trophy: 2022 2024 * UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award: 2018–19 * UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season: 2018–19 * UEFA Team of the Year:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

*UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 *UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2021–22 *UEFA Nations League Finals Team of the Tournament:

* Liverpool Fans' Player of the Season Award: 2018–19 * Liverpool Players' Player of the Season Award: 2018–19 * Southampton Player of the Season: 2015–16 * PFA Scotland Team of the Year: 2013–14, 2014–15 * Celtic Players' Player of the Year: 2013–14 * FIFA FIFPRO World 11:

, 2024 * IFFHS Men's World Team: 2019, 2020, 2022 *''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' Premier League Team of the Decade: 2010–2019 * IFFHS World Team of the Decade: 2011–2020 * IFFHS UEFA Team of the Decade: 2011–2020 * ESM Team of the Year: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2023–24 *

Football Supporters' Federation The Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) was an organisation representing football fans in England and Wales. It campaigned across a range of issues and supports fan representation on clubs' boards, lower ticket prices, and the introduction of ...

Player of the Year:

* ''The Athletic'' European Men's Team of the Season: 2024–25 * ''The Athletic'' Premier League Team of the Season: 2024–25 *

Fan Team of the Season: 2024–25

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website
Profile
at the Royal Dutch Football Association website (in Dutch) *

at

Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (''RSSSF'') is an international organisation dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dijk, Virgil van 1991 births Living people Footballers from Breda Dutch men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Willem II Tilburg players FC Groningen players Celtic F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Eredivisie players Scottish Professional Football League players Premier League players UEFA Champions League–winning players UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award winners Netherlands men's youth international footballers Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers Netherlands men's international footballers 2022 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2024 players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Dutch people of Chinese descent Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent 21st-century Dutch sportsmen