Virgil van Dijk warning: Don't sign for Real Madrid! | OneFootball

Real Madrid want Virgil van Dijk. That's according to Mundo Deportivo, who claim that Los Blancos view this as a real opportunity to sign an elite defender on a free transfer.

Van Dijk's contract will expire at the end of the season, by which time he'll be 36. We're into completely uncharted territory there with Liverpool, who I don't think have ever given a contract to someone at that age.

Certainly not a contract to be a first-team regular and captain of the side. It would be completely unheard of, especially at the wage-levels Van Dijk would command.

Real Madrid view this as a situation they can take advantage of. But boy is there a warning against that.

Van Dijk's Real Madrid warning

This is all very familiar, of course. Real Madrid have snapped up a Liverpool defender on a free transfer in each of the last two summers.

The first was Trent Alexander-Arnold in 2025 (though, admittedly, it ended up being a token €10m fee so he could play in the FIFA Club World Cup). Then came Ibrahima Konate in this window. They're now back playing alongside one another, much as they did for Liverpool.

And now Real Madrid want Konate's centre-back partner! It's hardly a shock, of course, as Van Dijk is an all-time great player but we're not sure he'll look at a move to Los Blancos the same way his former teammates did.

For one, both Alexander-Arnold and Konate have seen a significant reduction in their performance levels and their reputation in game since going there. Alexander-Arnold's reputation plummeted so far that he wasn't even in England's World Cup squad, even as a replacement option.

And now Konate is struggling, too, as he appears to have been usurped in the France pecking order by Liverpool's Jeremy Jacquet. The point is that Real Madrid isn't a place where defensive players go to thrive.

You don't just need ex-Reds to see that. Dean Huijsen moved there with a massive reputation in the Premier League but endured a difficult first campaign. It's a pattern - and one that will surely cross Van Dijk's mind as he looks to sign off his career.