A biography for Virgil van Dijkhasn’t been written yet.
“I was never a standout player until I played for the under-19s and became the captain. Then everything went much better - I played some games for the under-23s and after that it went pretty quickly.”
“I love playing for Liverpool, I am proud to wear the shirt.”
“To get the PFA Player of the Year is a fantastic honour. It's the highest honour you can get because it's voted by your fellow peers.”
“Obviously there are a lot of expectations when you come to a club for a record fee but you can't change that. You just need to perform and show it on the pitch and gain respect through that.”
“In my position when things are going well it's pretty easy to say that I'm sort of the guy that fixes everything. But if things are going bad then I'm the one that gets all the blame. In the end, we all do it together.”
“I think it is a very important thing in football to keep each other awake and alert.”
“Ronaldinho - he was one of my idols.”
“To play with pressure is always a good thing. I like to play with pressure.”
“I have improved since I joined Liverpool.”
“Like Koeman, Klopp knows exactly how to get the best out of me - by being critical. When the media are hyping me and being very positive, he will downplay the praise and all that - often with a wink.”
“It is a strength of mine to not really bother too much when people have their opinions, especially negative opinions.”
“It's great to get recognition from other players.”
“The influence of social media is unbelievable. It's sad to see - it's a fake life that some people live.”
“Personally, I like to put things in perspective.”
“I just enjoying playing for Liverpool, it doesn't really matter who is standing next to me.”
“The Champions League is unbelievably big. The whole show before, the fans, the players you play against, the people who are going to watch the game, the pressure - it's very special.”
“The only thing I want to do is keep working and keep giving everything I can in every game.”
“We need to look at what we have ahead of us and that is more important than looking at someone else. It is the only way forward.”
“My role is the same with or without the armband.”
“I'd rather play with pressure than without.”