Virgil van Dijk requested Liverpool legend was one to hand him Premier League trophy

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Virgil van Dijk has been reflecting on 2025 in a first-person piece written in the Times, and spoke about the day he lifted the Premier League trophy at Anfield

Virgil Van Dijk has also taken to social media(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Virgil van Dijk has revealed it was his idea for Alan Hansen to present Liverpool’s players with the Premier League trophy in May.

The Reds secured the title on an emotional day at Anfield in April, but had to wait four weeks before collecting the trophy, which came after the 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on May 25. It was Hansen, who played over 600 times and won eight titles, who handed the players their medals on that sun-soaked Merseyside afternoon.

It was a poignant day given the 70-year-old’s health issues, with the former Scotland international hospitalized for two weeks in June 2024. He was also the last Liverpool captain to lift the title in front of fans 35 years ago. That link between Van Dijk and Hansen, who posed for a picture together with the trophy at Anfield, provided a connection from the current team to those iconic Liverpool sides of the 1970s and ‘80s.

Somewhat surprisingly, Van Dijk has revealed it was actually his idea for Hansen to be involved, with the pair well acquainted through their charity work.

“I’m not an over-thinker normally,” wrote Van Dijk in a first-person piece that was published in the Times on Boxing Day.

“I’m a planner, but the week before Crystal Palace felt like a month. Everyone had to be there.

Van Dijk lifted the Premier League trophy in May(Image: Getty Images)

“I was speaking with the club that I wanted Alan Hansen to give me the trophy, together with the Owen McVeigh Foundation, which is close to my heart.

“I’m very spoiled at a club like Liverpool with the things we achieve, and also the things I’ve experienced, and those days were something else.

“I don’t watch it back, but I still have the pictures and now and then they’ll pop up. I speak to Alan Hansen now and then as well.

Hansen received a warm welcome in his return to Anfield(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

“Obviously, after we won the league it was a different atmosphere and preparation for every game.

“Not in terms of not wanting to win, but it’s a very human reaction. We wanted to celebrate as well, and that’s what we totally deserved.

“I don’t think that we went too far with those,” Van Dijk added. “There was no other time to celebrate.

“After the final game, we had our party with our family, we had the parade the next day, and then most of the players went on international duty.”