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Wayne Rooney has admitted he got it wrong when he suggested that Virgil van Dijk allowed his level to dip after signing a new contract at Liverpool.
Rooney's comments about Van Dijk's body language caused a stir last month, with Van Dijk responding by calling the criticism "lazy." Van Dijk came face to face with Rooney on Amazon Prime's broadcast of Liverpool's Champions League game against Real Madrid earlier this week, and addressed the criticism directly.
"I think the comment that I signed my new deal and then it's like, you know, that's it and let let it slide. I think that was a bit...." Van Dijk was cut off mid-sentence but he was making it clear that he didn't agree with Rooney's remarks.
Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast with BBC Sport, Rooney praised Van Dijk's performance against Madrid, as he also revealed that the Liverpool captain's appearance on the Prime broadcast took him by surprise.
Rooney said: "I thought he was good that night, and I had loads of people say, 'Oh, when he came up to you...' I think fair play to him for coming out.
"We didn’t know he was coming out. It was meant to be [Dominik] Szoboszlai, I think, to come to the table. But I think fair play to him, he came out and he put his point across.
"Listen, Virgil van Dijk over the last five, four years has been one of, if not, the best centre-backs in the world, and his performances have dipped over the last few weeks.
"I’ve had my opinion on that; he has his own, which you have to respect. But when you’re the Premier League champions, teams are coming for you, and when you don’t win one game, people ask questions.
"So, when you don’t win four games in a row, of course, there are questions about the captain."
Rooney added: "That [criticism] is part of being a top player. You have to deal with that. You have to accept it at times. Listen, I was unfair with my comments, I'd be the first to hold my hands up.
"Same way I did with Man United when I had a rant about them and then they won games, and I come back on that. If I was unfair, I'd be first to hold my hands up...'
"I think Van Dijk, his issue was– maybe I was a bit unfair on that because I don't know him as a person. I said he got his new contract and he looked like down to it a little bit.
"So maybe I was a little bit unfair on that comment, but from a performance point of view, I think I was speaking what I felt and what I was seeing, and I think I was right on them."
English (US) ·