Ronaldinho sends message to Virgil van Dijk after Liverpool captain's gesture

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has regularly spoken highly of Ronaldinho, revealing that the former Brazil star was his soccer idol when he was growing up

Ronaldinho responded to Virgil van Dijk's Instagram post(Image: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto)

Brazilian legend Ronaldinho thanked Virgil van Dijk for showing him love after the Liverpool captain shared a picture of himself wearing a 'Ronaldinho 10' jersey.

Van Dijk took to Instagram to upload what is now commonly described as a 'photo dump', sharing a series of pictures with his 17 million followers.

One of the snaps featured Liverpool's No.4 running on a treadmill while wearing a Brazil jersey with Ronaldinho's name on the back. Ronaldinho spotted the snap and left a comment which said: "Thanks for the love brother, see you soon in Liverpool."

Van Dijk previously revealed that Ronaldinho was his favorite player when he was growing up. In an interview with an Indian media outlet in 2024, Van Dijk was asked who his earliest soccer idol was and instantly responded: “Ronaldinho.”

Pressed to explain why, Van Dijk continued: “I played a lot of football on the streets when I was younger and obviously then you play multiple opponents and you play all over [the pitch].

“When I was younger I really liked to do the tricks, so yeah, he was my idol.”

In an interview with Sky Sports' Gary Neville in 2022, Van Dijk also spoke of his admiration for Ronaldinho, saying: “It’s just the way that he was, especially after the second season that he joined Barcelona. He was the difference-maker, you know? He was the one that everybody was looking to see and his goals, his tricks and his flair.

“Obviously you played against him a couple of times and at that point he was the best player in the world and he inspired me in different way because I’m not a striker, but he influenced who I am today.”

Ronaldinho is regarded as one of the best soccer players of all time, and was in his pomp during the mid-2000s, when he was Barcelona's main man.

The 45-year-old, who also represented clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan during his career, won the Ballon d'Or in 2005 and won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in both 2004 and 2005.

Ronaldinho, who also played a key role for Brazil as the Selecao won the World Cup in 2002, retired from soccer in 2018 and is now an ambassador for former club Barcelona.