Virgil van Dijk’s words on Alexander-Arnold returning to Anfield show football’s pragmatic reality | OneFootball

Virgil van Dijk has spoken with his customary candour about the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Anfield on Tuesday night.

The 27-year-old will be back at his former stomping ground for Real Madrid’s visit to Liverpool in the Champions League, his first time coming up against the club where he rose from academy prospect to a footballer of global renown.

The England international has insisted that his “feelings won’t change” about LFC after the match, irrespective of the reception he receives from a crowd who used to cheer his name but then watched him effectively run down his contract to leave for a pittance earlier this year.

Van Dijk hasn’t kept in touch with Alexander-Arnold

Van Dijk was inevitably asked about the return of his former Liverpool teammate to Anfield, and the captain’s responses suggest that he’s taken a pragmatic approach to the reality that Alexander-Arnold has moved on, figuratively and literally.

When asked whether the 27-year-old will get a hostile reception in L4 tomorrow night, the Dutchman replied (via The Independent): “Let’s see. I’m not going to comment on that. I think he’s been outstanding in his time in Liverpool and that’s the only thing I can say.”

The skipper was then quizzed on whether he’s kept in touch with our former vice-captain since the latter’s move to Madrid, answering: “Not much, no. Nothing personal whatsoever, obviously. I live my life and he lives his life in Madrid.”

Van Dijk continued: “I was very happy to have him in my team. We have been very successful, but now he’s an opponent on Tuesday. If he plays, then we have to make it very difficult for him to do what he’s good at.”

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Van Dijk’s message is clear – Alexander-Arnold is an opponent now

In other words, the Liverpool captain won’t be rolling out the red carpet for Alexander-Arnold on Tuesday. He’s just one of 11 Real Madrid players on the pitch that the Reds will be striving to beat in L4 for the second November in succession.

Some footballers maintain close friendships long after they cease being teammates. Others simply deviate and get on with their respective careers. That’s the nature of life at the highest level of the sport.

The probability of a frosty welcome back to Merseyside for the 27-year-old increased in recent days after he claimed that he’s been learning Spanish for ‘five months’ (i.e. since the start of May, when he was still an LFC player but was about to inform them that he wouldn’t be renewing his contract).

It’s entirely Alexander-Arnold right to choose what he believes is best for his career, but he’ll know that his legacy with many Liverpool fans (who would’ve strongly stood up for him in the face of criticism from the UK media) has now been permanently tainted.

For Van Dijk and his current teammates, tomorrow night is about getting a job done on the pitch, irrespective of who lines up for the opposition. That’s life. That’s football.