Roy Keane tells Virgil van Dijk to 'suck it up' in blunt response to Liverpool captain

Roy Keane has delivered a blunt response to Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, telling the defender to “suck it up” amid ongoing debate over pundit's criticism of players

Roy Keane has issued a blunt response to Virgil van Dijk

Roy Keane has fired a blunt response to Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, telling the defender to “suck it up” over his recent comments about former players turned pundits.

Earlier this week, Van Dijk called on pundits to be more mindful in how they critique players today, while acknowledging that criticism is part of the game. In an interview with Gary Neville he emphasized that former players should consider the potential impact of their comments on the mental health of younger professionals, rather than chasing attention or “clickbait.”

However, that nuance seemed to escape Keane, who used the opportunity to argue that Liverpool players should face criticism—a point Van Dijk never disputed.

“We were praising Liverpool all last season, they were outstanding, absolutely brilliant," said Keane. "But when this time of the season you’re 17 points worse off than the league leaders, then you’ve got to be criticised.

"I think you’ve got to suck it up – yes, there’s always a worry if it gets personal, yes I can see players get upset, but when you’re criticising Liverpool’s team for being open or the amount of games they’ve lost, the way they’ve lost at home recently - guess what, you’re going to get criticised!

"Because last year when you were doing really well, and you’re celebrating with five/six games to go and you’re going off to Ibiza for weeks, you lay off the players a little bit – even though you might not like it – because you’re turning up and winning the league.

"But when you’re not and you’re so far off it like they were a number of years ago, I said and I’ll say it again, they’ve been really bad champions. They’re still in Europe and the FA Cup, whatever, but their league performances, they are going to be criticized because they’re so far off it.

Virgil van Dijk's comments have sparked debate among pundits(Image: 2026 Getty Images)

"It’s very hard to win the league, it’s harder to win it back-to-back, but when you’re so many points off the top team, you are going to be criticized.”

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has faced scrutiny this season as the team struggles to defend its Premier League title, with particular attention on defensive frailties.

“Criticism for the season we are having is well-deserved because of the way we have been playing at times, the way we have been losing games on the bounce, that’s not the standard we set, especially last year,” Van Dijk added.

“But you have criticism and you have disrespect…we are in a process of things, and it takes time.”