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Wayne Rooney has admitted he was wrong to question Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk's form in relation to the contract that he signed in the summer, but has doubled down on his assessment of the Dutchman's season.
Van Dijk, alongside Mohamed Salah, penned a new two-year contract at Anfield at the end of last season. But last week, Rooney claimed he hadn't performed since — something that Van Dijk disagreed with when the pair met following the Reds' win over Real Madrid.
"My job now is to give my opinions," Rooney said on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet. "I like to think I’m straight and honest with my opinions and how I feel.
"The one thing where I maybe went a bit too strong is where I said he’s downed tools since he signed his new contract — that’s a big thing to say, and maybe I was wrong on that.
"But from a performance level, from what we’ve seen from Van Dijk, I don’t think he’s been at that level this season, and I said I’m sure as captain he’d be speaking to players, taking them out for food, which he said he has done.
"Clearly, if he’s felt he’s done that, if he had to do that, there’s something not right.
"As champions, you can’t lose four games in a row. If you lose one game, there’s questions, and if you lose four in a row, there’s something not quite right.
"I think getting involved too much in the outside noise — that’s our job [as pundits], focus on your game.
"As a younger player, I’d be looking at Van Dijk and how he reacts to this — how is it going to help them? You have to get on with your game and speak internally."
Van Dijk was criticized by Gary Neville for dangling a leg when Nico Gonzalez scored at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, while he was pulled up by Jamie Carragher for being too desperate to switch with Andy Robertson when the pair swapped positions during a Manchester City attack earlier in the game.
That led to Erling Haaland heading past Giorgi Mamardashvili, but Ibrahima Konate should have done better with the aerial challenge.
"I’ve had criticism much worse than what I said about Van Dijk – both on and off the pitch," Rooney said. "Of course, people talk and you take someone’s opinion a bit more serious than others but go and do your talking on the pitch.
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"That’s all he needs to do. I’ve praised van Dijk, about his performances and how good he’s been but, if you’re the Premier League champions and you’re the captain of Liverpool, and they aren’t performing as well, [you will come in for some criticism].
"We used to do it with Cristiano Ronaldo, where Ronaldo wouldn’t defend as much, and we would all work a bit harder. But it’s a tough game and you’re playing against a top team; you scream at your players to get back in and help.
"That’s what I was saying about leadership — you need to understand what game you’re in and the importance of the game."
Liverpool.com says: Van Dijk is far from the problem for Arne Slot. He has had to deal with inconsistency at left-back and Konate playing well below par. In front of him, the midfield has not always been watertight, and Alisson Becker has been out injured. There are lots of things that Liverpool needs to improve and Van Dijk hasn't been perfect, but he remains vital.
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