Van Dijk confesses true opinion on Maguire being more expensive than him

Virgil van Dijk says he has no hard feelings about Harry Maguire overtaking him as the world’s most expensive defender.

The pair will face off when Liverpool host Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, in what will be Maguire’s first game since being appointed permanent captain for the Red Devils.

The awarding of the captaincy shows how quickly Maguire has settled into life at Old Trafford, where he moved in the summer for £80m from Leicester – a fee that surpassed the £75m Liverpool paid Southampton for van Dijk in January 2018.

Liverpool’s Dutch colossus claims he is not bothered by the fact that Maguire is now the most expensive defender in the history of the game, instead of him.

“No, good luck to him,” van Dijk said.

“There was always going to be a time when that was going to change, because that’s the market.

“He doesn’t have any influence on that. We players don’t have any effect on the price and it’s the same for him as it was for me. But the price does come with pressure.

“I thought it wouldn’t change too much for him because at Man Utd there’s always a lot of pressure anyway — there is at all the big clubs.”

Van Dijk has been a pivotal figure for Liverpool ever since joining two years ago, falling just short of winning the Ballon D’Or last year.

Meanwhile, Maguire has been ever-present in the Premier League for United, making 29 appearances in all competitions so far.

Read more: Jamie Redknapp has hailed Virgil van Dijk for transforming Liverpool into Premier League champions in waiting.