Wayne Rooney makes fresh dig at Virgil van Dijk after admitting Liverpool criticism was 'wrong'

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Wayne Rooney has admitted he was wrong to question Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk's form in relation to the contract that he signed in the summer, but has doubled down on his assessment of the Dutchman's season. "The one thing where I maybe went a bit too strong is where I said he’s downed tools since he signed his new contract — that’s a big thing to say, and maybe I was wrong on that.

"But from a performance level, from what we’ve seen from Van Dijk, I don’t think he’s been at that level this season, and I said I’m sure as captain he’d be speaking to players, taking them out for food, which he said he has done. "Clearly, if he’s felt he’s done that, if he had to do that, there’s something not right.

I’ve praised van Dijk, about his performances and how good he’s been but, if you’re the Premier League champions and you’re the captain of Liverpool, and they aren’t performing as well, [you will come in for some criticism]. "That’s what I was saying about leadership — you need to understand what game you’re in and the importance of the game." Liverpool.com says: Van Dijk is far from the problem for Arne Slot.