Virgil van Dijk reveals surprise role wife played in his Liverpool transfer

Virgil van Dijk has revealed that his wife had a good feeling for Liverpool before he made the final decision to join the club back in 2018.

Now the Liverpool captain, Van Dijk signed during the midway point of the 2017/18 season in a then-record £75m move from Southampton.

A lengthy transfer saga proceeded his big-money switch, while the centre back was coveted by a host of clubs along with Liverpool.

In an interview with the Times, the defender revealed the reasons why he chose the Reds over other options and claimed the decision was one he made with his wife, Rike Nooitgedagt, who had a 'good feeling' about the club.

Asked if Barcelona had been one of the clubs interested in him, he replied: “No, no, no, not Barcelona at that time but, yeah [other teams were making offers]. Liverpool: I made a decision with my wife, obviously, but it was based on the feeling that you get looking at the city, looking at the football club, speaking to the manager, speaking to the players that I knew before I joined the club. Funnily enough, my wife said very early, ‘It’s gonna be Liverpool.’ She has a very good feeling for things.”

In the wide-ranging interview, Van Dijk also discussed the imminently departing Jurgen Klopp.

The 32-year-old heaped praise on Klopp, while predicting that the manager will return to football 'quickly' after his sabbatical.

"I never thought that I was going to be playing at Liverpool without him being the manager," Van Dijk said. "If you think about Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp is one of the first figures that you would think about.

"He's part of the culture of the city. And the success that we have has been incredible, what we've done since he came to the club. But I think he made that decision for him and his family and he needed that year off.

"I think he will definitely be back quite quickly because he lives and breathes football. We'll see."