‘Man Utd snubbed me – so Liverpool broke their record to sign me instead’ | Football | Sport
Virgil van Dijk was a target for Manchester United (Image: Getty Images)
For Liverpool, there is no greater satisfaction than triumphing over Manchester United. Throughout the last decade, the momentum in English football’s most legendary rivalry has swung decisively in favour of Anfield, largely thanks to the imposing figure of Virgil van Dijk. The Netherlands international joined from Southampton in January 2018 for a club-record £75million – then a world-record sum for a defender – and subsequently revolutionised Liverpool’s defence. Yet astonishingly, he came perilously close to signing for Old Trafford mere months beforehand.
According to former Southampton colleague Charlie Austin, Van Dijk was in serious discussions with United during the summer of 2017. However, the club eventually opted for Victor Lindelof instead, a choice that allowed Liverpool to swoop in. “I remember at the back end of his Southampton career, we were sitting on the bench together at Chelsea away,” Austin told talkSPORT in 2022.
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“I said to him, ‘Come on Virgil, what’s going on, surely Manchester United must have been in for you? They’re a massive club in England.'”.
“He said, ‘Do you know what Chaz, in the summer it was between me and Lindelof – and they went for Lindelof.’ Nobody knows that. He told me on the bench and I couldn’t believe it. I was gobsmacked.”
The decision has returned to plague United in ways they could hardly have foreseen. Van Dijk has not only flourished on Merseyside, but is now considered amongst the greatest defenders of his era – possibly of any era.
Manchester United signed Victor Lindelof over Virgil van Dijk (Image: Getty Images)
Lindelof, in stark contrast, never quite fulfilled his promise during his eight years at Old Trafford. Whilst the Swedish defender featured regularly in the starting XI, he couldn’t match the commanding presence, reliability and defensive solidity that Van Dijk has consistently provided for Liverpool.
Clearly regretting their choice not to take a punt on Van Dijk, United subsequently broke the world record fee for a defender when they brought in Harry Maguire from Leicester City in 2019. Yet Maguire did precious little to ease the pain of that earlier misjudgement.
His performances swung dramatically between solid and shambolic, and he swiftly earned a reputation as one of the top flight’s most expensive failures.
Though still at the club, the England centre-back has since found some stability and partially restored his tarnished standing, yet he’s never approached becoming the defensive lynchpin United believed they were acquiring.
Van Dijk, conversely, has cemented his status as one of Liverpool’s all-time greats. He was instrumental in the club’s 2018/19 Champions League and 2019/20 Premier League victories and became only the third defender ever to claim the PFA Player of the Year award in 2019.
The player also secured second place in the 2019 Ballon d’Or and has accumulated more than 300 appearances for the club. Following Jordan Henderson’s departure in 2023, he was handed the captain’s armband.
