Van Dijk has come out in support of his teammate
Virgin Van Dijk has weighed in on Sergio Ramos amid a feud with Dejan Lovren which first started during last season’s Champions League final.
Sergio Ramos’ tussle with Mohamed Salah, which saw the Egyptian fall to the ground and injure his shoulder, has made the Spaniard public enemy number one among Liverpool fans.
Lovren has since come out and said that Ramos is not as good as people make out, suggesting that he gets away with more mistakes than other defenders due to the quality in Real Madrid’s midfield and attack.
Lovren then landed an elbow on Ramos during Croatia’s home match against Spain in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday night, and confirmed to a fan in the comments of his Instagram post that he did so for his Liverpool teammate and good friend Mohamed Salah.
Since then, Van Dijk has joined the debate. The Dutch captain plays alongside Lovren for Liverpool and has come out in support of Lovren’s comments, claiming that Ramos is “not his type of defender”.
“He is a great player and I respect what he has achieved but he is not the best, he is not my type of central defender,” Van Dijk told De Telegraaf.
“Ramos’ teammate at Real Madrid , Raphael Varane is my favourite. He is an excellent defender and has already won a lot.”
Van Dijk also claimed that after Salah was substituted during the Champions League final in May, Real Madrid targeted Trent-Alexander Arnold.
“I do not know if it was deliberate but mentally something changed when Salah came off,” Van Dijk added.
“Suddenly, Marcelo, Benzema and Ronaldo all appeared at Trent and released the entire right side. With Salah they never dared to do that.
Asked if Liverpool would have won the final with Salah, the Dutchman said: “The match could have been different.
“I sometimes think about the match but I hope to be in the final again and on the right side of the score.”
