Virgil van Dijk has refused to confirm that he will be playing for both Liverpool and the Netherlands national team next season, suggesting that change may be on the cards, reports teamtalk.com.
van Dijk has had a gruelling campaign at both club and international level. With Liverpool, he made 48 appearances in all competitions, chipping in with four goals as the Reds won the League Cup. Liverpool were in the mix for a history-making quadruple at one stage, but they ultimately finished third in the Premier League and were knocked out of both the Europa League and FA Cup in the quarter-finals.
Liverpool captain, van Dijk, was tearful on the final day of the season as he said goodbye to iconic manager, Jurgen Klopp, who opted to end his amazing nine-year stint on Merseyside to take some time away from management.
van Dijk then travelled to Germany to lead the Netherlands at Euro 2024. Ronald Koeman’s side reached the semi-finals but were knocked out by England on Wednesday night as Ollie Watkins netted a brilliant 90th-minute winner.
Following that painful defeat, which also included a very controversial penalty for England, van Dijk was asked about what will happen next.
But rather than put both Liverpool and Netherlands fans at ease, van Dijk said he ‘hasn’t the slightest idea right now’.
The centre-back added: “I will think carefully this summer about what I want at club level and as an international player. Then we’ll go for it again, but first recover from this.
“After a season like this, where all kinds of things have happened, it gets emotional at the end because you know it’s over.”
It is clear that Van Dijk, now 33, is considering whether to continue playing for Liverpool and his country.
van Dijk has been linked with moves to either Real Madrid or Saudi Arabia after entering the final 12 months of his Liverpool contract alongside Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold. But the defender has previously stated that he expects to remain part of Liverpool’s plans under new head coach Arne Slot.
As such, van Dijk may decide to hang up his boots at international level to ensure he can continue dominating in the Premier League with Liverpool for several more years.
van Dijk reached the elite level at a later stage than most top players, and he will therefore feel he can follow in Thiago Silva’s footsteps by shining in the Premiership until his late 30s.
