Virgil van Dijk has won three trophies during his career as a professional footballer… all of them with Celtic.
The 27 year old won two Scottish Premiership titles and the Scottish Cup, and he was a big part of success the club had whilst the Dutchman was at Celtic Park.
Moving to Southampton in 2015 for around £13m, the defender quickly went about proving all those who had doubted him wrong. It would be different in the Premier League, playing for Celtic wasn’t difficult, the gap in quality would be obvious… not of that proved true.
Van Dijk did so well that he’s now the most expensive defender in history, and by some way. Liverpool had to put up a prolonged fight to get the player from Southampton, and Jurgen Klopp was so sure about the purchase he didn’t move on to other options.
He’s now also a leader with the Netherlands national team and has been speaking to Voetbal International about his career and what led to this stage.
Celtic, of course, get a mention or two, and when asked if he’s found his home in English football, Van Dijk said: “Make it Great Britain, because Scotland was really the ideal intermediate step towards the Premier League. At Celtic I learned to play in this football culture, with direct football and lots of personal duels. And because Celtic is such a big club, you also sometimes win something. In addition, we also placed ourselves for the Champions League, so I also immediately came into contact with that level.”
Very happy at Liverpool, the footballer would like to win a trophy again soon: “It’s about time that we are going to win something, yes. Last year we were close with that final of the Champions League, but it just was not to be.”
