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Beth Lindop
Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has said he “sticks by” his criticism of Virgil van Dijk after the Liverpool captain branded his suggestion the Reds have lacked leadership this season “lazy”.
Rooney singled out Van Dijk and teammate Mohamed Salah last week when discussing Liverpool’s recent poor run of form, saying the pair’s body language this term is “not right.”
When asked about Rooney’s comments following Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday, Van Dijk said: “I can say only positive things [about Rooney], but I feel like that comment is just I would say a bit of a lazy criticism.
“That’s my personal opinion. It’s easy to blame all the players but he knows obviously as well as everyone else we do it together, trying to help each and every one of us trying to get out of this.”
Rooney has since doubled down on his comments but admits he has “full respect” for the Liverpool defender.
Speaking on the latest episode of BBC’s The Wayne Rooney Show, the England legend said: “Virgil van Dijk’s similar to Salah, you know, over the last five years he’s been one of, if not the best defender in the world, and last year it was hard to say anything bad because they were that good, and he was that good.
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“I’m sure he’ll come out and tell you, he probably hasn’t been at his best this season, if he’s honest with himself. And as captain, your job as captain if things aren’t going right, is to speak to your team-mates, call meetings with your team-mates, and that’s really what I was saying. You know, as a captain, as a leader, I’m sure he will have been doing that.
“I’ve got full respect for Virgil. I think he’s a fantastic player. My job now as a pundit is to give my opinions on what I feel. 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.”
