'Celtic star was best I ever played with before I went on to win title with Liverpool'
Virgil van Dijk has noted how Stefan Johansen was one of his best-ever team-mates while at Celtic.
The Dutch centre-half made a name for himself with The Bhoys between 2013 and 2015, lifting two Scottish Premierships and a League Cup before making the move to Southampton. And while the now 33-year-old shared the pitch with a wealth of incredible players during his time at Celtic Park, including the likes of Scott Brown, Georgios Samaras, and Jason Denayer, he held a soft spot for centre-mid Johansen in particular.
When answering fan questions during a Twitter Q&A session, Van Dijk was probed on his time at Celtic, with one person asking who the best player he had the privilege of sharing the pitch or Parkhead with. To which, he responded: "I loved my time at Celtic and played with so many top players but a special mention to Stefan Johansen."
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Johansen came up through the youth ranks of Bodo/Glimt in 2007 before transferring to Stromsgodset in 2011. He arrived at Celtic in 2014, and spent just two years with the side – racking up 19 goals and 22 assists in 114 games for the Green and White Army, and was named as both Celtic's and the PFA Scotland Player's Player of the Year in the 2014/15 campaign before parting ways with the club to explore other avenues with Fulham in 2016.
Arguably the side which Johansen is best-known with, the Norwegian helped promote Fulham to the Premier League via the Championship playoffs on two occasions, before moving on to Queens Park Rangers in 2021, and exploring the Eliteserien with Sarpsborg 08 in 2024.
At 34, the seasoned veteran has been without a club since the turn of the new year; his career a far cry from the highs in which Van Dijk has enjoyed since parting ways with Celtic in 2015. For context, the hard-hitting centre-half made a £13million move to Southampton in 2015 under fellow countryman Ronald Koeman, immediately impressing in the English top flight.
The defensive stalwart made 80 appearances across all competitions for the Saints before he was swept up by Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in an at the time club-record transfer of £75m. And the move certainly paid dividends for the Anfield brass, with Van Dijk helping the side achieve their first-ever Premier League title in the 2019/20 campaign, as well as an FA Cup, two League Cups, a Community Shield and a Champions League.
Fast forward to 2025, and Van Dijk is still one of the first names on the team sheet for the Reds under Arne Slot, as Liverpool sit atop the Premier League table with hopes of clinching a second league title since its rebranding in 1992. The Anfield elite are favoured to go all the way once more in 2024/25, currently six points clear of second-place Arsenal with a game in hand.
However, Van Dijk's future in the north west beyond the current campaign is uncertain at present, with his contract set to expire in the summer. The defender has made it clear that he hopes to remain with the club and clinch a fresh deal, however, his age may be a defining factor in negotiations going forward.
Celtic, meanwhile, are flying high in the Scottish Premiership at present – 10 points clear of rivals Rangers, also with a game in hand. While the likes of Johansen and Van Dijk have been away from the club for some time now, the side is certainly bustling with talent in the defensive and midfield departments.
Reo Hatate and Callum McGregor each have six goals to their name for the current campaign thus far, clearly providing scoring opportunities from the heart of the midfield.
Meanwhile, with just one loss to their name for the entire season, the likes of Liam Scales and Cameron Carter-Vickers have been providing incredibly defensively to fend off any opposition they come up against.
