Virgil van Dijk, born on July 8, 1991, hails from the Netherlands. He stands as a formidable figure on the football pitch with his height of 6ft 3in (1.93m) and structure of 14st 6lb (92kg). Currently playing as a central defender for Liverpool, he adorns the number 4 jersey. Additionally, he has represented the Netherlands national team, strengthening his international career.
Van Dijk embarked on his professional football journey in July 2010 with FC Groningen, a club in the Eredivisie in the Netherlands. He had a modest debut season in 2010-11 with only two first team appearances. However, he gradually found his footing, with 23 first team appearances and three goals the following season and 32 first team appearances with two goals in the 2012-13 season.
In an essential turn of events for his career, van Dijk transferred to Celtic in Scotland in July 2013 for around £2.6m. His stint with the Scottish Premiership club Celtic proved vital as he marked 36 first team appearances with five goals in 2013-14 season and 35 first team appearances with four goals in the subsequent season. In his final season (2015-16) with Celtic, he played five league matches.
Following a successful tenure with Celtic, van Dijk moved to Southampton in the Premier League in England in September 2015 for around £12m. His first season (2015-16) with Southampton saw him making 34 first team appearances scoring three goals in league matches. The 2016-17 season matched him with the ball once in his 21 appearances. In his final season (2017-18) with the club, he made 12 league appearances.
In January 2018, a significant move in his career saw him transfer from Southampton to Liverpool in the Premier League for a hefty fee of around £75m. His tenure at Liverpool has been impactful with regular first team appearances and goals scored in every season, starting from 14 league appearances in his debut season (2017-18) to most recently, 14 first team appearances with one goal in the ongoing 2024-25 season.
Besides his club career, van Dijk also represented Netherlands in Euro 2024 with six starts, scored one goal in eight starts in Euro Qualifiers 2022 - 2024, appeared in Europa League 2023 - 2024 for Liverpool with three starts and two appearances as a substitute, represented Netherlands with four starts in Nations League 2024 - 2025, and scored one goal in six starts in Champions League 2024 - 2025 for Liverpool.
