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Virgil van Dijk has spoken about how he sees his future after Liverpool.

Soon to be 34 when the new club season starts in August, the Dutchman is coming off a Premier League-winning season as captain.

His recent two-year contract extension is signal from the club that they have faith in his enduring quality and that he will be able to maintain the standards that earned him the deal in the first place.

The 33-year-old racked up 37 Premier League starts, 3 goals, 14 clean sheets, and a league-high 221 clearances in the 2024/25 domestic campaign.

Van Dijk’s trajectory mirrors Thiago Silva’s late-career resurgence at Chelsea, where the Brazilian defied age to remain their top center-back until his departure at 39

And it’s not by mistake either, with the Dutchman revealing to Rio Ferdinand Presents last year that he has his own personal team:

“[I have] a little team around me.

Obviously, it’s very important and I think it really benefits me.

It’s, for me, very normal, but obviously, it costs a lot of work.””

It’s clear Van Dijk is aiming to be a pillar at the back for the Reds for more than the two years on his contract.

However, one career step he won’t take is going back to the Eredivisie, namely his former clubs in FC Groningen and Willem II.

Speaking to Voetbal Primeur while on Dutch duty, the Reds skipper was quizzed on whether he could see himself return to his former clubs as a romantic return before retirement – with van Dijk categorically denying these suggestions:

“No, unfortunately not.”

“I’m very clear about that: I’m not coming back to the Netherlands.

I am very clear that I do not want to return to the Eredivisie,” he asserted.

“I’m quite proud of my career so far and I don’t think finishing in the Eredivisie will be added to that.”

His words certainly suggest he wants to finish at the top of his game, akin to Toni Kroos retiring at the end of the 2023/24 season as a Champions League winner.

All Reds fans would no doubt love to see Van Dijk end his career at Liverpool, and from his words that is not a far-fetched idea.

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