Latest news with #VirgilVanDijk
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Harvey Elliott hails impact of Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk in helping him become a leader after stunning match-winning brace for England U21s
Harvey Elliott hailed the impact of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk in helping him become a leader after he produced a match-winning brace to fire England to successive Under-21 Euros finals. Elliott produced two moments of magic in the second half against the Netherlands and as one of those in the leadership group this time around, compared to two years ago when he played more of a bit part role, he is relishing the extra responsibility. 'At so many moments throughout the season the likes of Mohamed Salah has had to score important goals, winning goals,' Elliott said. 'Towards the end of the season [Virgil] Van Dijk came up and scored a header in the 90th minute. 'I think things like that, to not give up, to keep going to the final whistle and take these opportunities, I think that's leadership. 'You can speak as much as you want on the pitch, you can say whatever, but at the end of the day when the moment comes and you need to show up, and you need to, for example, in my situation, score a goal. The Liverpool star broke the deadlock with a fearsome drive with his weak foot into the net 'It's about how you take that, and those opportunities are vital. 'Today I'm just so happy I was able to contribute and get the two goals to win us the game.' Is he ready to pull another rabbit out of the hat in Saturday's finale? 'Who knows? In the final it could be someone else,' Elliott added. 'I just hope I can keep the team spirits high and give the motivation to the team, that it doesn't have to be me or the attackers, it can be anyone in the team, because we're all amazing players and we deserve to be here.' One thing that has been ever-present during this tournament is that England's players are operating on belief, rather than hope. As for any fear on Germany or France, who they will face in the final, there is none and if there was it would be the beginning of the end, Elliott conceded. 'We all deserve to be here,' he said. 'The squad is incredible in terms of the quality, in terms of how we play football as a team, and the togetherness we have. 'The moment we have fear within ourselves is the moment it goes wrong. 'I think now, especially after the Spain game, the fear isn't there anymore. We can take on any team, we can play to the best of our abilities and we go into every game now thinking that we can win because we have the players, we have the squad, and we have the backing from the manager as well. 'There is no fear, it's just about us going out and delivering and we're doing that at the minute.'
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kevin De Bruyne brands Brazil icon Ronaldo as the 'nicest legend in the game' while holidaying with Liverpool star in France
Former Manchester City captain Kevin De Bruyne has hailed Brazilian legend Ronaldo after meeting him while on holiday. De Bruyne is enjoying time off after a rollercoaster campaign with Manchester City and Belgium. The 33-year-old, who joined Napoli earlier this month, has been soaking up the sun in Southern France with Liverpool 's Virgil van Dijk. The pairs crossed path with legendary striker Ronaldo, 48, and posed for a photo all smiles. And De Bruyne was full of compliment for the South American, writing on Instagram: 'Nicest legend in the game', with a heart emoji. Ronaldo is currently in Biot, France, attending the Patrick Mouratoglou Charity Gala. The pair have holidayed together in the past, with Van Dijk previously praising the Belgian star back in 2022. Despite Manchester City and Liverpool's rivalry over the past seven years, De Bruyne and Van Dijk have remained good friends away from the sport. He said: 'Someone that I've never played with before but would love at Liverpool is Kevin De Bruyne. 'I think he's unbelievable. If he would have played at Liverpool we would have gone even further than we already have. 'I think he's outstanding, good on the ball, pressing, scoring, he's got everything as a modern-day midfielder and footballer in general. I think he's an outstanding player.' De Bruyne has also previously been complimentary of van Dijk, telling Sky Sports: 'He's got everything. I know him well: he's got right foot, left foot, speed, height, he's a leader. Thiago [Silva] is also amazing, but I just think Virgil has got that little bit more.'
BBC News
20-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Why was Van Dijk overlooked?
When the shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year was announced, one name was conspicuously absent - Virgil van Liverpool captain was a cornerstone of the Reds' resurgence in 2024-25 - and to highlight just how impactful he's been, he's compared here with the likes of William Saliba, Nikola Milenkovic, and Gabriel, who are widely regarded as some of the Premier League's top-performing centre-backs. This context underscores the level Van Dijk has operated at throughout the despite matching or outperforming them in several key defensive metrics, the Liverpool captain was surprisingly left off the shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the what do the advanced numbers say about the Dutchman? Van Dijk's dominance in the air remains unmatched. According to Opta, he comfortably leads his elite peers in aerial duels won on a per game basis. In a league where physicality and aerial strength are vital, especially for a central defender, his superiority in this area sets him may not make headlines, but they reflect a defender's ability to read the game - a skill Van Dijk has in abundance. He is level with or ahead of Saliba, Milenkovic and Gabriel in this department, showcasing his tactical intelligence in Liverpool's high-risk, high-line defensive ground duels, Van Dijk remains highly competitive, just ahead of the others in total duels won, but not by much. More impressively, he has committed the fewest fouls of the group, highlighting his clean, calculated defending. It is a rare combination of aggression and composure that few defenders manage to balance so individual awards are never the full measure of a player's impact, the numbers speak loudly: Van Dijk remains one of the Premier League's elite defenders and is perhaps the most unfortunate omission from this year's honours list.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From £11m to £100m - how has Liverpool's record spending changed?
They say you get what you pay for - and Liverpool will be hoping that rings true in the case of Florian Wirtz. It is understood the initial fee for the 22-year-old will be a £100m, and with that Wirtz becomes the Reds' club record signing. Advertisement It is a badge that has been held by club captain Virgil van Dijk since he joined for £75m from Southampton in January 2018. Often praised for their shrewd business in recent years, it is not a regular occurrence for Liverpool to go out and break the bank to secure a player. With the arrival of Wirtz, since 2000 the Reds have set a new club record on seven occasions, so how has that spending evolved? Emile Heskey - £11m in 2000 The striker was the first club record signing after the turn of the century when he joined from Leicester for £11m - the third most expensive player in English football at the time. Advertisement It was a long-standing pursuit of Heskey for Liverpool but it proved worth it with the England international scoring 60 goals in 223 appearances and securing five medals before leaving for Birmingham City in 2004. Djibril Cisse - £14m in 2004 Four years after the signing of Heskey, the Reds broke their club record by £3m to bring in another forward in Cisse from French side Auxerre. The then 22-year-old suffered serious bad luck with injuries during his time at Anfield. However, he did still feature 79 times in two years and scored 24 goals. He also scored a crucial penalty in Liverpool's Champions League final shootout with AC Milan in 2005. Advertisement Fernando Torres - £20m in 2007 In a running theme, it was another striker three years later that would increase the club's record signing by £6m with the arrival of Torres from Atletico Madrid. The Spaniard became adored by Reds during his time on Merseyside, before an acrimonious £50m exit to Premier League rivals Chelsea in January 2011. In his four years, he played 142 times and scored an impressive 81 goals. Andy Carroll - £35m in 2011 Once again, the Reds brought in a number nine and broke the club record by £15m when signing Andy Carroll from Newcastle following the exit of Torres. Despite signing a five-and-a-half-year deal, it was a somewhat ill-fated time at Anfield for Carroll. He made just 58 appearances and netted 11 goals before making a loan move in 2012 and then permanent switch to West Ham in 2013. Advertisement Naby Keita - £48m in 2017 It would be six years before Liverpool would break their record again, this time spending £48m (plus a reported undisclosed premium) to secure the signature of Keita from RB Leipzig - a year before he would officially arrive in 2018. There were big expectations on the midfielder, but injuries hampered his time with the Reds - 129 appearances across five years - but he still came away with multiple winners' medals. Virgil van Dijk - £75m in 2018 It was a big-spending 12 months for Liverpool when they smashed their club record by £27m with the signing of Van Dijk from Southampton a year after Keita. Advertisement It was also a then world record fee for a defender and former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer said at the time the Netherlands international was "not worth it at all". However, 319 appearances and nine pieces of silverware later, it is safe to say it has been a success. Florian Wirtz - £100m in 2025 It has taken seven years for the Reds to break their own record again, but they will do that with Wirtz. Now, only time will tell whether it will go down as one of the success stories or relative disappointments.
BBC News
20-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
From £11m to £100m - how has Liverpool's record spending changed?
They say you get what you pay for - and Liverpool will be hoping that rings true in the case of Florian is understood the initial fee for the 22-year-old will be a £100m, and with that Wirtz becomes the Reds' club record is a badge that has been held by club captain Virgil van Dijk since he joined for £75m from Southampton in January praised for their shrewd business in recent years, it is not a regular occurrence for Liverpool to go out and break the bank to secure a the arrival of Wirtz, since 2000 the Reds have set a new club record on seven occasions, so how has that spending evolved?Emile Heskey - £11m in 2000The striker was the first club record signing after the turn of the century when he joined from Leicester for £11m - the third most expensive player in English football at the was a long-standing pursuit of Heskey for Liverpool but it proved worth it with the England international scoring 60 goals in 223 appearances and securing five medals before leaving for Birmingham City in Cisse - £14m in 2004Four years after the signing of Heskey, the Reds broke their club record by £3m to bring in another forward in Cisse from French side then 22-year-old suffered serious bad luck with injuries during his time at Anfield. However, he did still feature 79 times in two years and scored 24 also scored a crucial penalty in Liverpool's Champions League final shootout with AC Milan in Torres - £20m in 2007In a running theme, it was another striker three years later that would increase the club's record signing by £6m with the arrival of Torres from Atletico Spaniard became adored by Reds during his time on Merseyside, before an acrimonious £50m exit to Premier League rivals Chelsea in January his four years, he played 142 times and scored an impressive 81 Carroll - £35m in 2011Once again, the Reds brought in a number nine and broke the club record by £15m when signing Andy Carroll from Newcastle following the exit of signing a five-and-a-half-year deal, it was a somewhat ill-fated time at Anfield for Carroll. He made just 58 appearances and netted 11 goals before making a loan move in 2012 and then permanent switch to West Ham in Keita - £48m in 2017It would be six years before Liverpool would break their record again, this time spending £48m (plus a reported undisclosed premium) to secure the signature of Keita from RB Leipzig - a year before he would officially arrive in were big expectations on the midfielder, but injuries hampered his time with the Reds - 129 appearances across five years - but he still came away with multiple winners' van Dijk - £75m in 2018It was a big-spending 12 months for Liverpool when they smashed their club record by £27m with the signing of Van Dijk from Southampton a year after was also a then world record fee for a defender and former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer said at the time the Netherlands international was "not worth it at all".However, 319 appearances and nine pieces of silverware later, it is safe to say it has been a Wirtz - £100m in 2025It has taken seven years for the Reds to break their own record again, but they will do that with only time will tell whether it will go down as one of the success stories or relative disappointments.
