Virgil van Dijk, a star for Liverpool, has criticized people for criticizing others repeatedly just for the sake of saying it, but he also acknowledged that handling it this season hasn’t always been simple.

The Dutch central defender has received praise for his crucial Reds contributions in recent years, but this season, his form has suffered in tandem with Jurgen Klopp’s team’s underwhelming performances. Despite being in terrible shape the entire time, they managed to save European football by placing fifth, their worst finish in a full season since the German took over.

Some of the performances resulted in disappointing results, especially while they were away from home, which made things worse for Liverpool and their defense in particular. Van Dijk has continued to draw criticism outside of the English Premier League, particularly from Dutch icons.

The 31-year-old is frequently the subject of Oranje-related discussion, which has led to some discontent from players like Marco van Basten, Rafael van der Vaart, and Ruud Gullit.

The Liverpool defender, who is currently representing his country with Ronald Koeman’s team ahead of their UEFA Nations League semifinal matchup against Croatia, admitted that while the criticism has been difficult to handle, some of the advice given to the captain of Holland and his teammates was sound.

He admitted to Algemeen Dagblad that “sometimes the criticism was just right, both on the team and on me personally.”. “Not always, but quite frequently. However, you must be able to deal with it, and I’m glad I handled it well. That is sometimes challenging mentally.

“Criticism is just a part of it, and if it’s justified, it’s definitely not a problem. But the difference starts there. A football player is very aware of when they have performed well or poorly, as well as whether the criticism is fair.

But the majority of comments are made with the intention of being persuasive. statements made merely for the sake of making them. These days, there are a ton of platforms available for people to voice their opinions. “.