Pundit Row Erupts Over Liverpool Captain's Form
Football legend Wayne Rooney has publicly rowed back on his strong criticism of Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, admitting he was wrong to suggest the defender had 'downed tools' after signing a lucrative new contract. The former England striker found himself in the line of fire after Van Dijk branded his initial comments as 'lazy' punditry, sparking a public dispute between two of the game's biggest names.
The Admission and The Stance
Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate with Sky Bet, Rooney made a partial retraction of his October comments. He specifically walked back his claim that Van Dijk had essentially stopped working hard since putting pen to paper on a £400,000-a-week deal in April, a contract that made the Dutchman Europe's highest-paid defender. "The one thing where I maybe went a bit too strong is where I said he's downed tools since he signed his new contract – that's a big thing to say, and maybe I was wrong on that," Rooney conceded.
However, the Manchester United icon did not back down from his core argument about Van Dijk's performance levels. He maintained that the Liverpool captain's form has noticeably dipped this season and suggested that his reaction to external criticism indicates he is becoming too distracted by the 'outside noise'. "My job now is to give my opinions, and I like to think I'm straight and honest with my opinions and how I feel," Rooney stated, defending his role as a pundit.
Van Dijk's Firm Response
Van Dijk had not taken the original criticism lightly. After Rooney's initial remarks on his BBC podcast – where he questioned the body language of both Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah following their new deals – the Liverpool skipper delivered a pointed response. "I would say it's a bit of a lazy criticism," Van Dijk retorted, adding, "It's easy to blame the other players but he knows we do it together." He did, however, acknowledge that pundits have a job to do and stated there were "no hard feelings" towards Rooney personally.
The debate took another turn when the two men came face-to-face on TNT Sports following Liverpool's 1-0 win over Real Madrid last week. In a tense exchange, Van Dijk reiterated that criticism was fair after losing four or five games in a row, but he felt some comments were "over the top." Rooney, perhaps sensing the moment, lightened the mood by joking, "I'm not saying anything any more, I think I've spurred them on and put them on a winning streak!"
The context for this war of words is Liverpool's concerning start to the Premier League season. The Reds currently sit eighth in the table after 11 games, already 10 points worse off than at the same stage last season. Their recent 3-0 loss to Manchester City was compounded by a highly controversial decision to disallow a Van Dijk equaliser for offside, a moment that could have changed the game's complexion.
