{"id":12518,"date":"2025-11-03T13:04:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T13:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T13:04:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T13:04:26","slug":"wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Wayne Rooney hits back at Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool riot | Soccer | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Rooney suggested Van Dijk lacked leadership qualities this term.<\/p>\n

In response, the Dutch defender said after his side’s 2-0 win against Aston Villa that he thought the critical comments were “lazy”.<\/p>\n

When asked about Rooney’s words, Van Dijk replied: “I didn’t listen to him last year.” “Honestly, it doesn’t hurt me. I feel like this particular player, and obviously a legend in this game, just coming back to be a big player in the game. I can only say positive things, but I think that comment is a bit of a lazy criticism.<\/p>\n

“This is my personal opinion. It’s easy to blame other players, but he knows, just like the other players, that we’re all in this together and trying to help each of us try to get out of this situation.”<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, you didn\u2019t hear any of that last year when things were going well, and that\u2019s the way it is.<\/p>\n

“You have to do the job too, so that’s what it is. It’s natural that everyone has an opinion and you have to deal with it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“By the way, there are no hard feelings. I don’t take it personally at all, but I feel that way.”<\/p>\n

Rooney has since hit back at Van Dijk’s comments, insisting the Liverpool star has not been at his typical level this season, but insisting he has great respect for the player.<\/p>\n

“Van Dijk, like Mo Salah, has been one of the best defenders in the world, if not the best defender in the world, over the last five years. He was so good last year that it was hard to say anything bad about him,” Rooney explained on the BBC’s podcast.<\/p>\n

“If he’s honest with himself, he’ll probably come out and say this season hasn’t been his best. And as a captain, your job when things don’t go well is to talk to your teammates and call a meeting with your teammates. And that’s really what I said as a captain and as a leader. I’m sure he’s done that.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I have total respect for Virgil van Dijk and think he’s a great player. My job now as a pundit is to say what I feel.<\/p>\n

“If you ask him, if you ask Arne Slott, he’s probably not as good as he has been in the last few years. That was my comment.”<\/p>\n

Liverpool return to action on Tuesday night in a blockbuster Champions League game at home to Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

The Reds will face second-placed Manchester City on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rooney suggested Van Dijk lacked leadership qualities this term. In response, the Dutch defender said after his side’s 2-0 win against Aston Villa that he thought the critical comments were “lazy”. When asked about Rooney’s words, Van Dijk replied: “I didn’t listen to him last year.” “Honestly, it doesn’t hurt me. I feel like this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matches"},"yoast_head":"\nWayne Rooney hits back at Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool riot | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wayne Rooney hits back at Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool riot | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rooney suggested Van Dijk lacked leadership qualities this term. In response, the Dutch defender said after his side’s 2-0 win against Aston Villa that he thought the critical comments were “lazy”. When asked about Rooney’s words, Van Dijk replied: “I didn’t listen to him last year.” “Honestly, it doesn’t hurt me. I feel like this\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-03T13:04:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/\",\"name\":\"Wayne Rooney hits back at Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool riot | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6527619.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-03T13:04:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6527619.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6527619.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Wayne Rooney hits back at Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool riot | Soccer | Sports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\",\"name\":\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\",\"description\":\"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\",\"name\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wayne Rooney hits back at Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool riot | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wayne Rooney hits back at Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool riot | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","og_description":"Rooney suggested Van Dijk lacked leadership qualities this term. In response, the Dutch defender said after his side’s 2-0 win against Aston Villa that he thought the critical comments were “lazy”. When asked about Rooney’s words, Van Dijk replied: “I didn’t listen to him last year.” “Honestly, it doesn’t hurt me. I feel like this","og_url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/","og_site_name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","article_published_time":"2025-11-03T13:04:26+00:00","author":"admin_ok9yktt6","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin_ok9yktt6","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/","name":"Wayne Rooney hits back at Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool riot | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6527619.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-03T13:04:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6527619.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/6527619.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/wayne-rooney-hits-back-at-virgil-van-dijk-during-liverpool-riot-soccer-sports\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Wayne Rooney hits back at Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool riot | Soccer | Sports"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/","name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","description":"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9","name":"admin_ok9yktt6","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin_ok9yktt6"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/eplvip.com"],"url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}