Embarrassing Real Madrid attempts to derail Liverpool player before UCL loss exposed | OneFootball

Real Madrid and their PR machine were at it again before Liverpool humbled them at Anfield on Tuesday night, and not only did their attempt to derail Virgil van Dijk backfire, but it’s also been exposed by Fabrizio Romano.

If football were judged on who has the best PR, Real Madrid would never lose a game. Certain elements of the Spanish press gobble up anything Real Madrid feed them – so long as it puts a positive spin on Los Blancos and helps to derail their opponents, of course.

Real Madrid travelled to Anfield on Tuesday night and prior to the contest, AS reporter, Jose Felix Diaz, did his part on behalf of the LaLiga giant to ruffle Van Dijk’s feathers.

The reporter rather curiously claimed Van Dijk had his heart set on joining Real Madrid on a free transfer rather than signing a new contract with Liverpool earlier in 2025.

‘The English team’s captain fought tooth and nail last season to try and sign for Real Madrid,’ declared Diaz.

The reporter added: ‘One after another, the [Liverpool] proposals were rejected by the Premier League champion’s captain, hoping that at some point Real Madrid would look to Liverpool to reinforce the centre of defence, a circumstance that never came to pass.’

The timing of these supposed revelations – in the hours leading up to kick-off – was obviously not a coincidence. and unfortunately for Real Madrid and their mouthpieces in the media, their mind games did not work.

Van Dijk was once again a tower of strength when pocketing Kylian Mbappe. Neither he nor Vinicius Jr produced a single shot on target as Real Madrid were blunted from first minute to last.

What’s more, transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, has since poured cold water on the claims Van Dijk wanted Real Madrid.

Fabrizio Romano exposes nonsense Van Dijk claims

Taking to YouTube, Romano said: “There are some stories in Spain about Virgil van Dijk who wanted to go to Real Madrid on a free transfer last summer.

“Guys, I’m aware that Van Dijk really wanted to stay at Liverpool, and Van Dijk really wanted to be a crucial part of the Liverpool project.

“So if Van Dijk extended his contract at Liverpool it’s because he really trusted the project. He’s always been super keen on staying at the club and signing a new deal.

“My understanding is that, sometimes the stories can be told in different ways in Spain and England, it’s normal.

“But it’s also normal some times for agents when you have a world class client like Van Dijk to reach out to clubs and to understand situations, it’s part of their job.

“But the desire of Van Dijk has always been to stay at Liverpool and to continue at the club, that must be clear, because for Van Dijk the focus has always been Liverpool Football Club.”

In other news, Arsene Wenger has revealed an extraordinary condition in Florian Wirtz’s transfer to Liverpool this summer that the club has so far failed to meet.

Finally, our sister site, Football365, have taken a look at the full transcript of Van Dijk’s exchange with Wayne Rooney after the Reds captain addressed the bizarre criticism coming his way.