Virgil van Dijk reveals he once ‘didn’t acknowledge’ Jurgen Klopp to avoid being told off by manager

Virgil van Dijk has revealed that Jurgen Klopp has yelled at him ‘many times’ and that he once ignored his manager to avoid being betrayed.

The Liverpool defender appeared on the The Overlap Xtra and spoke to Gary Neville and revealed several lesser-known facts about himself, including that he loves sushi, his childhood icon is Ronaldinho, and that his funniest teammate is Andy Robertson.

Since joining the squad in 2018, the Dutchman has emerged as one of the best defenders in the Premier League, winning both the Champions League and Premier League under Klopp’s management.

The defender revealed that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp (left) has called out to him ‘many times’

But during the video, he revealed that his boss had been angry with him on several occasions, including during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Fulham earlier this season, where the centre-back chose to ‘don’t acknowledge’ his manager to avoid being fired. was sent away. .

“Oh yes, often, yes,” said Van Dijk when asked if Klopp ever yelled at him.

“Not in my face because I feel like yelling in someone’s face can be a bit disrespectful, but if it’s necessary he will definitely do it, but he yells a lot.”

“The point is, and what I like is that someone does that because someone really cares about you or the situation and wants to make sure it improves or makes someone else sharper. So in a way I really enjoy that and it helps me personally.’

Van Dijk admitted he once tried ‘not to acknowledge’ the Liverpool boss earlier this season

He admitted he had a lot of respect for the Liverpool boss who wants to improve his team

Asked if there was a specific moment when Klopp had yelled at him this season, Van Dijk said: “When we played against Fulham at the start of the season and in the last five minutes.

“I tried to be more direct and he yelled at me that we should play a little more. I know he yelled from the side so I didn’t look at him or try to acknowledge him because I was sure he would come after me. It is what it is.’

Since joining the club from Southampton, the 31-year-old has played 197 games, scoring 17 goals in all competitions, while racking up 86 clean sheets during his time on the Liverpool backline.

Van Dijk also admitted he would trust teammate James Milner (right) to score a penalty to save his life

During those years he won several major accolades at Liverpool and candidly admitted that the celebration after the Champions League win in 2019 was one of the best he’d been to, but he “couldn’t remember much about it, especially the last bit.’

But the Holland international clearly has a lot of affection for his teammates as when asked who he would choose to score a penalty to save his life, he chose his teammate James Milner.

“Milly is Milly,” he said, referring to the utility man from Liverpool. “What he has already achieved at this age, I hope I can do all this when I am his age.”