Virgil van Dijk appears to ignore Man Utd star on international duty
Some Liverpool fans have been lapping up a video on social media that appears to show Virgil van Dijk blanking Joshua Zirkzee ahead of the Netherlands' meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina over the weekend.
Van Dijk and Zirkzee may be teammates on the international stage but they are rivals at club level, and the Netherlands' first game of the international break came just six days after Liverpool destroyed Manchester United at Old Trafford. Zirkzee was handed his first start for United in that match but was easily neutered by Van Dijk.
Prior to the Netherlands players walking out at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, Van Dijk embraced several teammates but curiously missed out Zirkzee.
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Of course, we can say with some certainty that there will be more to the clip than meets the eye. Van Dijk may well have clasped hands with Zirkzee further down the tunnel when the cameras weren't on him, and felt no need to acknowledge the striker again.
Nevertheless, unsurprisingly, some fans on social media took the clip at face value and rolled with it. "Looks like Van Dijk's not too concerned with Zirkzee at the moment! Could be an interesting rivalry brewing," one fan wrote. Another said: "Van Dijk does not want to know Zirkzee."
Zirkzee opened the scoring for the Netherlands as Ronald Koeman's side went on to record a 5-2 victory, and after Zirkzee's goal, photographers at the stadium captured him hugging Van Dijk, proving that there was no bad blood after all. Who would have thought it?
Meanwhile, Van Dijk publicly revealed on international duty that he wants to remain at Liverpool for the next two years at least, as he confirmed he wants to continue to play at the highest level going into the 2026 World Cup.
Addressing his comments after the Netherlands' semi-final exit at Euro 2024, when he appeared to suggest he was considering his future at international level, Van Dijk said: “At both teams (the Netherlands and Liverpool) I am still Virgil van Dijk, the big leader! And I certainly want to remain that for the next two years. I am human, I have emotions too. You start thinking all kinds of things. Especially just after a game like the elimination (by England) in the very last minute.
“I also understand that it came across unclear on how I stood in all this, because after the match I was so disappointed and full of emotion. It perhaps came across as if it had been my last international match. I did have doubts that night and I did hint at that.
“It's very good that I went on holiday the next day, was able to spend time with my children, my family, which is the most important thing in my life. I was able to share it and then very quickly things calmed down.”