The enduring rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United has extended beyond the pitch to the realms of an ongoing player-pundit feud played out for all to see in the form of Virgil van Dijk vs. Wayne Rooney.
Rooney, Manchester United’s retired all-time top scorer, has been mercifully shifted out of the Match of the Day studio to host his own self-titled podcast. When he isn’t reminiscing about Sir Alex Ferguson’s nuggets of wisdom or Patrice Evra’s annoying habits in training, the 40-year-old has taken on an increasingly spiky style of punditry. Liverpool, and Van Dijk in particular, have been his latest victims.
An initial jibe from the former England captain actually inspired a response from Van Dijk, who dismissed it as “lazy criticism.” Rooney has since doubled down on his view of the Liverpool captain in an exchange of barbs which may not yet be over.
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There were few hiding places for any Liverpool players in the aftermath of last month’s insipid 3–2 defeat to Brentford. Some members of the club’s own squad piled in on the wobbling champions, paving the way for Rooney to add his own view. The ex-Everton academy graduate questioned the leadership shown by the pairing of Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.
“They’ve signed new deals but I don’t think they’ve really led that team this season,” Rooney claimed. “I think body language tells you a lot, and I think we’re seeing slightly different body language from the two of them. They are the top two players in that team and if their body language is not right, that affects everyone else.
“I might be wrong on this, but if I was a Liverpool fan or the manager, that would be a big concern for me.”
Van Dijk has clearly been stewing on those comments for the past week. There was no chance for the Dutch defender to offer his own response while watching on from the stands as Liverpool lost their fifth successive domestic fixture against Crystal Palace last Wednesday, but a triumph over Aston Villa on Saturday night belatedly opened the door for the towering Dutchman.
After initially limiting himself to a measured response in his first postmatch interview, calling for a sense of calm following some “ridiculous takes,” Van Dijk directly cited Rooney’s comments.
“I didn’t hear him last year,” the Premier League champion snapped. “No, it doesn’t hurt me to be honest. Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things, but I feel that comment is just… I would say it’s a bit of a lazy criticism.
“That’s my personal opinion. It’s easy to blame the older players but he knows obviously as well as everyone else we do it together trying to help each and every one of us to try to get out of this and, like I said as well, last year when things go well you don’t hear that at all.”
Van Dijk unconvincingly added: “There’s no hard feelings.”
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Entirely undeterred by Van Dijk’s comments or his much-improved performance against Villa, Rooney stood his ground. “My job now as a pundit is to give my opinions on what I feel,” he told his own podcast from a dimly lit trophy room. “I’m sure if you ask him or Arne Slot, he probably hasn’t been as good as he has been over the last few years. That was my comment which I stick by.”
Rooney was quick to acknowledge Van Dijk’s enduring quality throughout his illustrious Premier League career: “I’ve got full respect for Virgil. I think he’s a fantastic player.” But the damage had already been done.
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