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The Dutch international carefully weighed his options before joining Jurgen Klopp’s side
Virgil van Dijk has revealed the reasons why he chose to join Liverpool in January 2018 when he left Southampton, saying he had a holistic view of the clubs that were interested in signing him.
Promised as a rising star at the time, the Dutchman had an interest in clubs across Europe, including Manchester City, while moving up to a club in the top six, but chose to move to Anfield.
Since then he has become one of the most prominent players in the world game, with Fabio Cannavaro regretting missing the Ballon d’Or, while Franco Baresi, one of the all-time great defenders, has praised his contribution to the Liverpool team. . who has run to the brink of the Premier League title and won the Champions League last period.
“Before making the decision to choose Liverpool, I examined all aspects of the clubs; how to play, teammates, the future too, “said Van Dijk BT Sport. “The city, the fans, it all has to be a big part of joining a club.
“I think Liverpool at the time, when I made the decision, was the right decision, and obviously reaching the Champions League final in my first six months was obviously a huge advantage and helped me a lot in my development.”
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The 28-year-old, whose fee of £ 75 million ($ 91.5m) was a world record for a defender when he made his move, has played 81 times in the Premier League for Jurgen Klopp’s side, coming 113 times overall. Previously, he had played for Groningen and Celtic, gaining experience in the Champions League in the latter.
While he has impressed with Liverpool, he has also been a formidable figure for the Netherlands, with whom he has participated 33 times, scoring four goals.
He captained the Dutch in the inaugural final of the Nations League, in which runners-up to Portugal finished, while he hopes to be a member of the team that will participate in next year’s European Championship, which was delayed a year due to the pandemic of coronavirus.
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