Virgil van Dijk was the subject of a transfer tug-of-war involving Liverpool and Manchester City with a phone call from Steven Gerrard proving key
Liverpool signed Virgil van Dijk despite interest from Man City
Steven Gerrard has recalled a phone call he received from Virgil van Dijk when he was being pursued by Liverpool and Manchester City where he delivered a blunt message to the defender.
Van Dijk had established himself as one of the Premier League’s best centre-halves and made it known to Southampton that he wanted to move on. A summer move failed to materialise, but the saga was always going to continue come January.
Liverpool would win the race, spending a then club-record £75million to land Van Dijk, who made an instant impact as he helped the Reds make the Champions League final within months of joining.
Gerrard recalls Van Dijk phoning him to so that he could get a greater impression of the Merseyside outfit. The Dutchman wasn’t looking for the Liverpool legend to sell him the club, instead seeking a greater insight, but Gerrard did make it clear that Liverpool’s traditions far exceeded City’s.
The former midfielder recalled during Captains, a new LFC Original: “He phoned me at the time actually. I knew his agent really well. It was City, Liverpool.
“He said to me, ‘I haven’t phoned you to sort of push me one way or the other, because I know which way you’re going to push me. But just tell me a little bit about Liverpool?’
“I just said to him, ‘Look, if it’s about what the clubs stand for and what the clubs are about, you’re wasting your time because I think you already know the answer to that.’ It was an interesting conversation and I was so happy that he chose us.”
Virgil van Dijk scored on debut for Liverpool back in 2018(Image: Getty Images)
Van Dijk would enjoy the dream debut, scoring against Everton to knock them out of the FA Cup and concedes he was determined to wear red. “That feeling of, like, I wanted to play for this club so badly, it was so intense,” he said. “And the fans embraced me from day one. Scoring also against Everton [on his debut] helped massively too!”
Within 18 months of signing Van Dijk had been named the PFA Player of the Year and proved crucial in Liverpool’s Champions League success of 2019. The following year he helped the Reds’ end their 30-year wait for a top flight title. Van Dijk remains Liverpool’s defensive leader despite turning 35 this summer.
