Daniel Sturridge torches Micah Richards over Virgil van Dijk comments

Daniel Sturridge takes aim at Micah Richards following Virgil van Dijk's remarks about former players as pundits and the influence they have on young footballers

Daniel Sturridge has shared his thoughts on Virgil van Dijk's comments

Daniel Sturridge has taken a playful swipe at Micah Richards as the pair discussed Virgil van Dijk's comments about former players turned pundits.

Earlier this week, the Liverpool captain urged former players turned pundits to exercise a “duty of responsibility” when assessing current footballers. Speaking to Sky Sports’ Gary Neville ahead of the Manchester City game, Van Dijk acknowledged that criticism is part of the game but stressed that ex-players should consider the impact their comments can have on the mental health of younger professionals, rather than chasing attention or “clickbait.”

“For me personally, I can deal with it, but I’m a bit worried for the next generation,” the 34-year-old told Neville. "I feel like the ex-top players have a responsibility to the new generation. Criticism is absolutely normal and part of the game, and I think it should stay that way.

“But sometimes criticism also goes into being clickbait, saying things to provoke things, and without thinking about the repercussions for a mental side of players, and especially the younger generation, who are constantly on social media…

“There is always this thing of when you play a good game, younger players check all the positive praises, but when you have a worse game, and you’re getting bullied all over social media, or you’re getting bad criticism, it can really affect you.”

Discussing Van Dijk's comments on Sky Sports, Sturridge said he agreed with the Dutchman. When asked by Richards what's a top player, Sturridge joked: "If you don't think you're one then that's on you!"

Sturridge explained the impact criticism can have on players, particularly younger professionals. “As you said, there’s a difference between criticism, constructive criticism and disrespect and it depends on the level at which we believe as the people on the other side.

"What we believe to be disrespectful and how the player takes it is down to them. For me, I try to operate in a way of saying like how would I feel in this situation or in the moment because we’ve all been there and I agree with them. We’ve all been there.

"We’ve all faced highs, lows in different moments within our careers and it’s important for us to give people the nuance—what it feels like to be in the dressing room, what it feels like to be low, when you’ve had injuries, all of those things. Those are the perspectives that we all have shared throughout our careers.

“We have a duty to the next generation, not just the current players but the players after them as well, and how we go about that, everybody’s different.”

This isn’t the first time Van Dijk has addressed the issue this season.

Back in November, the Dutch defender dismissed Wayne Rooney’s claim that a lack of leadership was to blame for Liverpool’s struggles, calling it “lazy criticism.”

He revisited the topic days later when the pair appeared pitchside on Amazon Prime following the Reds’ 1-0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid.