Virgil van Dijk, born in Breda on 8 July 1991 (age 34), is a Dutch central defender whose career began at FC Groningen before Celtic brought him to Glasgow in July 2013 for around £2.5m. At a commanding 6ft 4in (1.93m), he had the frame for Scottish football and rather more besides.
Celtic was the first major staging post. Van Dijk arrived from the Netherlands as a developing defender and left two years later with his reputation sharply improved, moving to Southampton in September 2015 for around £12m. It was good business, which is not always the same as it being painless.
Southampton gave him the Premier League platform, but Liverpool is where the career settled into its proper scale. Across 10 seasons there, he has made 272 league appearances and scored 27 league goals, becoming a long-term first-team presence rather than a passing upgrade.
He remained central to Liverpool in 2025–2026, making 55 appearances in all competitions and scoring eight goals. His league return was unusually productive too, with six goals from 38 Premier League appearances, while he also continued to feature for the Netherlands.
Van Dijk’s route runs from Groningen to Celtic, Southampton and then Liverpool, where most of the work that defines his career has been done. The Celtic spell was brief, important and early; Liverpool has been the long stretch.
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