“I genuinely believe that” – Pundit says Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk is the ‘best defender that has ever lived’

Former Manchester United star believes Liverpool superstar Van Dijk to be the best defender to ever live

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has made the bold claim that Liverpool superstar Virgil van Dijk is the greatest defender ever, even over his old Old Trafford teammates.

Despite playing alongside Red Devils greats like Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Foster insisted on his YouTube podcast channel(h/t Dailystar), Van Dijk before his ACL injury in 2020 was on another level.

Virgil van Dijk, peak of his powers, is the best defender that has ever lived. I genuinely believe that. When Liverpool are winning the Champions League and Premier League.

Virgil is the number one. People have just got short memories and the cruciate ligament injury has probably taken a yard of pace off him.

The retired stopper argued that for three years, Virgil Van Dijk was unequivocally the world’s number one centre-back. Foster believes some may have forgotten the Dutchman’s sheer dominance prior to his long-term knee injury in 2020.

I think for three years in a row, he was the best centre-back in the world. He had a bad injury and is probably still finding his feet from that

He praised Van Dijk for propelling Liverpool to Champions League and Premier League glory during his peak at Anfield.

Foster argues Van Dijk “stepped the game up a little bit” and, when fully fit, was on a level above any defender before him. Some may point to longevity as a mark against the 31-year-old Van Dijk’s ‘greatest ever’ credentials.

But Foster is adamant that for a sustained period, no other central defender compared to Van Dijk’s on-field brilliance.

Liverpool were derided for spending £75m on Van Dijk in 2018, smashing the transfer record for a defender.

Yet Foster believes the fee now looks a bargain given Van Dijk’s immense impact at Anfield.

While the Dutchman may have lost some pace after his injury, Foster stands by his bold assessment.

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He insists peak Van Dijk surpassed all legendary names that came before him in the centre-back position.

It’s lofty praise, but Foster genuinely believes the Liverpool man reached new heights and we are not going to argue with that.