Rio Ferdinand picks a side in Virgil van Dijk vs Wayne Rooney row - 'I think it's brilliant'

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Learn moreRio Ferdinand has backed Virgil van Dijk's move to slam comments from Wayne Rooney over Liverpool's start to the season - labelling the Reds skipper's response as "brilliant".Rooney had claimed that there was "a lack of leadership" on show from Van Dijk and fellow Reds icon Mohamed Salah during the Reds' below-par start to the campaign, with Rooney calling out the duo's body language after a dismal run of six defeats in seven matches in all competitions.But speaking after Saturday's 2-0 win over Aston Villa, in which Salah scored the opening goal, Van Dijk hit back and called Rooney's comments "lazy".“I didn’t hear him last year," said the Dutchman. There are so many platforms nowadays that everyone can say whatever they like and it gets blown up.“What I have noticed, over the last couple of weeks especially, is that there is a lot of noise that you have no control over and that we have to deal with as a team.“Some of those takes are absolutely ridiculous.

It’s about sticking together."And former United defender Ferdinand has now backed Van Dijk for sticking up for himself and his team in the wake of the criticism.Speaking on his 'Rio Ferdinand Presents' podcast as he addressed Van Dijk's response to his former United and England team-mate, Ferdinand 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. 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’.”