Toni Kroos explains why Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk makes his top five CBs of the 21st century

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Liverpool DP Toni Kroos ranks Virgil van Dijk fourth in all-time centre-backs of the 21st centuryOf course, there is going to be bias from Kroos because he played alongside Ramos for many, many years and he was captained by the Spain star in Madrid. Nonetheless, this was Kroos’ top five list: Sergio RamosPaolo MaldiniThiago SilvaVirgil van DijkAlessandro NestaKroos hails van Dijk for changing his game at LiverpoolThere haven’t been many players who have been as dominant as van Dijk, and someone who just oozes confidence and aura like nobody else.Kroos explained on Luppen TV, where he was alongside his brother, that the Netherlands star has gone from being ‘truly outstanding’ to someone who is a ‘very assured and composed’ defender.There will be many Liverpool fans arguing that he always had those qualities in his game, but at the age of 35, it is understandable that he has lost that extra bit of pace he used to have.

While Kroos has shared a pitch with van Dijk, he has also watched the Liverpool legend from afar, as he explained that he has been seriously impressed that players struggle to dribble the ball past him in the Premier League. You can definitely see that he’s now 33 or 34, and you can see that he’s starting to lack a bit of that pace, that he’s losing some of that speed.

You see it again and again.“He’s also had one or two difficult years with Liverpool recently, and he hasn’t always looked completely assured. But I think if we’re not judging him on last season or the last two seasons, he’s an absolute colossus of a centre-back.“He’s also very good on the ball, has a top-class ability to switch play, and he’s excellent in the air offensively.