Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk has had enough. It seems he’s spent the summer reading what the Dutch press had to say about him and now he’s fighting back.
And that came out in the wash today as he attended a press conference ahead of their Nations League campaign under Xavi.
The Liverpool defender ended up in a battle of words with De Telegraaf’s Valentijn Driessen after earlier comments from the journalist.
The Dutch journalist has not held back on the Liverpool and Netherlands captain in recent months, particularly after their disappointing campaign at the World Cup.
For instance, all the way back in June, Driessen didn’t hold back on his criticism of the defender. He accused him and Ronald Koeman of having “betrayed everything our national team stands for”.
He even went as far as to suggest that the Netherlands had changed to a back five just to protect the Liverpool defender, who he insisted was now done on the international stage.
Van Dijk bites back
Well, that led to an awkward encounter in this press conference. Van Dijk was more than aware of those comments and wanted to make his disdain for Driessen clear. He appeared in an irritated mood, something Driessen noted as they exchanged blows.
The first question that seemed to annoy the Liverpool defender was about what went wrong at the World Cup, and potential lessons from it.
“Well, it’s easy to say in hindsight: “We should have done this differently” or “We should have done that differently,” he said.
“One of your colleagues also said, of course, that it was my idea to switch to playing with a back five. That is utter nonsense. The fact is we simply failed at the World Cup; those are the hard facts.”
Nonsense being sent out
That response was one of many that hinted at his displeasure, prompting Driessen to question what was wrong.
“I feel like you aren’t acting like your usual self. A bit curt, as if the media is still getting under your skin,” he asked.
Van Dijk then responded: “I’ve never had anything against the media, but when nonsense is being sent out there… (I have to respond)”
“We didn’t play a good World Cup. It’s not about me. You perform together; you’re a team. Your claim that I destroyed Dutch football after the World Cup – that sort of thing is completely baseless…”
At this point, Driessen then attempted to engage Van Dijk in further conversation. But sensing the tone, the KNVB’s press officer decided to intervene.
“I think we’ll leave it at that,” he said. After that the next journalist gets the chance to ask questions, and everyone moved on. Well, until Driessen responds to the drama at some point this week.
🇪🇸🦇 Harvey Elliott | Disappointment with overweight Liverpool loanee ⏩ Has 3 weeks to get in shape https://t.co/DQcsMYSJ3L #lfc
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) September 23, 2026
