Middlesbrough defender Rav van den Berg has admitted he spoke to brother Sepp van den Berg about leaving Liverpool this summer.
The 20-year-old has revealed he spoke to his brother about the move and where he should go, in an interview with Mee Met Oranje.
Van den Berg, the older, left Liverpool to join Brentford this summer in a €23.6m deal after returning from a successful loan spell at FSV Mainz.
He had been with the Reds since 2019 after joining as a youngster from PEC Zwolle in a €1.9m deal.
The next few year saw him spending various spells out on loan at Preston, FC Schalke and then Mainz, the latter of which really helped him to kick on.
He had returned to Anfield looking to establish himself in Liverpool’s first-team squad but was seemingly deemed surplus to requirements by new manager Arne Slot.
That led to his eventual move to Brentford but not after weeks of speculation, particularly around a potential return to the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven.
They had initially been confident they could get their man but were eventually beaten by a quick and decisive push from Brentford.
Sepp van den Berg has already spoken about how that came about and now his brother has revealed the part he played when it became clear his older sibling was leaving Liverpool.
“We are both in football and he asked me: ‘What would you do?’ I didn’t want my words to influence his choice, but he especially wanted to hear my opinion,” he said.
“I told him that playing time was the most important thing and he thought the same. Although Brentford is a Premier League club, I said: ‘You are good enough for that’.
“Clubs promise you a lot, but Sepp really noticed and felt the confidence. The coach also lives up to his words, because my brother plays everything. So far it has been a great step.”
