Virgil van Dijk admits he is considering his Liverpool and Netherlands future after Euro 2024 exit
Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk gave a cryptic response on his future after being eliminated from the Euro 2024 with the Netherlands.
The recently-turned 33-year-old will soon return to Merseyside following the Netherlands’ 2-1 defeat to England in the semi-finals of the European Championships. The centre-back saw his side concede a last-minute Ollie Watkins goal against England in Dortmund on Wednesday night, as the Oranje bowed out of the competition.
He has entered the final year of his contract at Liverpool, which has only intensified speculation surrounding his long-term future at the club. Virgil van Dijk said he would spend the next weeks figuring out his next career steps after earning 75 caps for the Netherlands national team and enjoying six-and-a-half successful years at Liverpool.
“I haven’t the slightest idea right now. I will think carefully this summer about what I want at club level and as an international player. Then we’ll go for it again, but first recover from this,” Van Dijk told the reporters after the Netherlands’ defeat to England. (h/t The Athletic)
“After a season like this, where all kinds of things have happened, it gets emotional at the end because you know it’s over.”
The Liverpool star had a long 2023/24 season, playing 64 games for club and country. He led his nation to the last four of Euro 2024 but fell one step short at the hands of England earlier this week. No wonder the Dutch defender cut an extremely emotional and exasperated figure after his country was knocked out of the Euros in the semi-finals stage, leading him to give a cryptic message.
There is uncertainty surrounding Van Dijk’s future at Liverpool, with him into the final 12 months of his contract and the club entering a transitional period. Jurgen Klopp bid farewell to the Kop after nine long years at the end of last season and has been replaced by Arne Slot in the Anfield hotseat.
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Earlier this month, Liverpool’s new sporting director Richard Hughes remained tight-lipped when it came to contract extensions, only reiterating “total commitment” from those players heading into the final year of their deals. In addition, Van Dijk has also been heavily linked with a move to the cash-rich Saudi Pro League with Al Ettifaq—led by our former skipper Steven Gerrard—expressing interest.
It remains to be seen what Van Dijk decides as he goes on a much-needed break after a highly taxing and emotional year with Liverpool and his nation.
