Virgil van Dijk, born on 8 July 1991 in the Netherlands, is a 34-year old defender mainly operating in a central defensive role for Liverpool Football Club. Standing tall at 6ft 3in (1.93m) and weighing 14st 6lb (92kg), van Dijk is a formidable presence on the pitch, donning the number 4 jersey. He has also amassed a substantial number of caps for the Netherlands national team.
van Dijk's professional career kicked off in July 2010 when he signed his first contract with FC Groningen in the Eredivisie in Netherlands. In his debut season (2010-2011), the Dutchman made two first team appearances in league matches. His playing time increased in the following season (2011-2012) at FC Groningen, with 23 first team appearances and three goals to his name. His third season (2012-2013) saw him make 32 first team appearances and net two goals.
In July 2013, van Dijk transferred from FC Groningen to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership for a fee of around £2.6 million. His time at Celtic proved to be fruitful; in his debut season (2013-2014), he made 36 first team appearances and scored five goals in league matches. The following season (2014-2015) wasn't too different, as he made 35 first team appearances and netted four goals. However, his final season (2015-2016) at Celtic saw a depletion in his game time, with only five league matches to his credit.
van Dijk then made a move to the English Football League Championship, signing for Southampton in September 2015 for a fee rounding to £12 million. His first season (2015-2016) in the Championship had him featuring in 34 league matches and scoring three goals. He also had a reasonable amount of game time in the next season (2016-2017), making 21 first team appearances and netting one goal. However, in the 2017-2018 season, he only made 12 league appearances for The Saints.
In January 2018, van Dijk submitted to the allure of the English Premier League and signed for Liverpool for a whopping fee of around £75 million. Starting from the 2017-2018 season to his present season (2025-2026), he has been consistently appearing in the first team and netting a considerable amount of goals for The Reds.
van Dijk's international career has also been noteworthy, as evident from his performances in the World Cup Qualifiers Europe 2024-2026, Euro 2024, Euro Qualifiers 2022-2024, Europa League 2023-2024, FA Community Shield 2025-2026, Nations League 2024-2025, and the Champions League 2025-2026 where he scored a goal in two starts.
