Virgil Van Dijk: Early Life, Clubs, Family, Net Worth, Career and Stats
Virgil Van Dijk is a Dutch football player, who plays as a defender and captain of Liverpool FC in the English Premier League. He belongs to the Netherlands National Team. He is well-known for his aerial ability, dead-ball skills, and excellent leadership abilities. This article includes details about Van Dijk’s personal life, wealth, and professional accomplishments.
Introducing The Early Life Of Virgil Van Dijk
On July 8, 1991, in Breda, a city in the southern region of the Netherlands, Virgil van Dijk was born. Van Dijk began his football career with the local amateur team WDS’19. He later enrolled in the Willem II Tilburg youth system, which is run by a professional football team in the Netherlands.
Van Dijk used to play a variety of roles on the pitch, such as midfielder and striker. As a young player, he displayed a lot of promise, and eventually, a professional football club in the Netherlands called FC Groningen noticed him. This is how his professional career began. His nickname of Aquaman was given by ex-Liverpool ace Gini Wijnaldum.
Clubs Van Dijk’s Played For
6 feet 5 inches tall Van Dijk played for different clubs in his career. Let’s explore the journey of his football career club-wise.
Groningen (2010-13)
In his youth career, he played for Willem II club in the 2009-10 season and for Groningen in the 2010-11 season. When he entered the senior group, he further cemented his bond with the club of Groningen for 2011-13. During his two seasons as a player, Van Dijk made 66 appearances and scored 7 goals for Groningen.
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Celtic (2013-15)
Van Dijk spent two and a half seasons playing for the Scottish club Celtic after signing in 2013. He also quickly gained popularity among supporters due to his integral role in Celtic’s victory in two Scottish Premierships, one Scottish Cup, and one Scottish League Cup. Van Dijk won the Scottish Professional Football League Player of the Year award in the 2014–15 campaign while he was a Celtic player.
Southampton (2015-2018)
Van Dijk joined Southampton of the English Premier League in 2015, and he spent two seasons there. He played 68 games for the team and won the 2015–16 season’s Player of the Year award.
Liverpool (2018-Present)
Van Dijk signed a record-breaking £75 million contract to join Liverpool in January 2018. In 2020, Van Dijk contributed to Liverpool in winning their first Premier League championship in thirty years as well as the UEFA Champions League in 2019. He has played for the Reds in 212 games since then, tallying 19 goals. He has proven to be one of the greatest defenders in the world and has been frequently selected for both the PFA Team of the Year and the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season. Virgil Van Dijk jersey number is 4.
Virgil Van Dijk’s International Career
On October 10, 2015, he played his first friendly match for the Netherlands against Kazakhstan. Since then, Van Dijk has emerged as one of the Netherlands’ most important players, contributing greatly to their defence. In 2019, he assisted the team in making it to the UEFA Nations League final, where Portugal defeated them.
In the semi-final matchup with England, Van Dijk was declared the Player of the Match. He also competed for the Netherlands team, who advanced to the round of 16 of the Euro 2020 competition before losing to the Czech Republic.
Virgil Van Dijk’s Injury
According to some recent reports, it was indicated that Virgil van Dijk had fallen ill before the match against Arsenal. However, The defender is now fit to play in upcoming games.
Virgil Van Dijk’s Net Worth and Stats
Talking about the net worth of Van Dijk, he holds an overall worth of £42 million approximately. His stats in the EPL game weeks are tabulated below.
| Appearances | 254 |
| Goals | 22 |
| Clean Sheets | 101 |
| Tackles | 261 |
| Tackle success % | 66% |
| Interceptions | 378 |
Vigil Van Dijk’s Family
In this section, we are going to give insights into some aspects of Dijk’s personal life.
Van Dijk likes to play video games, spend time with his family, and listen to music when he’s not playing football. In addition, he has a reputation for being an avid NBA basketball enthusiast and has stated that he would like to attend games in the US. The Liverpool FC Foundation and the Dutch organization “Kinderen Kankervrij” (Children Cancer-Free) are two of the philanthropic endeavors he is involved in.
Ron and Ruby van Dijk are the parents of Virgil van Dijk. Jordan, his younger brother who also plays football professionally, is one of his three siblings. Because of a family dispute with his father, who abandoned the family while Virgil was a boy, he frequently uses just his first name.
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Van Dijk is married to Rike Nooitgedagt, his longtime partner, and the two of them have a daughter named Nila, and a son named Jax. He currently resides in Liverpool, England, in a lavish house.