- Virgil van Dijk dissed Cristiano Ronaldo by naming his toughest opponents
- However, the Liverpool defender is included for a former and current Manchester City striker.
- Jurgen Klopp has the eye of a tiger! He hasn’t looked this confident since 2019 – listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk ignored Cristiano Ronaldo in his list of toughest opponents he has faced.
Van Dijk has established himself as one of the best defenders in the world since joining the Reds for £75million in 2018.
He has helped guide the Merseyside club to Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup glory, facing some of the most prolific players of that era.
The Dutchman has faced Ronaldo on several occasions, including the 2018 Champions League final, but the Real Madrid legend failed to make Van Dijk’s list.
Van Dijk instead opted for Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Sergio Agüero and Olivier Giroud.
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk named the four toughest players he has faced
The Dutchman failed to include Cristiano Ronaldo on his list despite facing him on several occasions
Your browser does not support iframes.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, he explained his decision to choose Haaland and Aguero.
“I would say that Erling Haaland is a very difficult opponent, (he is) very strong, a modern striker,” Van Dijk said.
‘It’s frankness. If you give them an inch, they will punish you.
“The same thing happens with Agüero. He didn’t score many goals for us, but since I played against him when he was at Southampton he was always a problem, he could shoot with his left or his right, you always had to be at your best.
“I remember a goal he scored against us in 2018-19, he got in front of Dejan Lovren with a cross and finished it very quickly.”
Van DIjk included current Manchester City striker Erling Haaland on his list as he sang his praises.
The inclusion of Olivier Giroud may surprise some, but Van Dijk says the Frenchman is a difficult opponent.
Giroud was not prolific during his time in the Premier League, but Van Dijk explained what made the Frenchman a difficult opponent.
He said: “(He was) a link-up player, along with (Eden) Hazard at the time, it was always Hazard who gave him the touch.” he was holding the ball.
“He also scored good goals for me. I always felt like he wasn’t going to score, but he did.”
