‘He’s not my type of defender’: Virgil van Dijk joins Liverpool team-mate Dejan Lovren’s spat with Sergio Ramos
- Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos is not Virgil van Dijk’s ‘type of central defender’
- The Liverpool centre back backed up Dejan Lovren’s criticism of Ramos
- Lovren has made his opinion of Ramos clear since the Champions League final
- Mohamed Salah was forced off with a shoulder injury after a Ramos challenge
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has waded into Dejan Lovren’s war of words with Sergio Ramos by admitting the Real Madrid skipper isn’t his ‘type of central defender’.
Lovren has made his opinion of Ramos clear since the Spaniard injured Mohamed Salah’s shoulder in the Champions League final in May.
Liverpool felt aggrieved and that Ramos’ actions were deliberate, something Lovren is still smarting about.
Virgil van Dijk has joined Liverpool team-mate Dejan Lovren’s ongoing spat with Sergio Ramos
Lovren (left) has been critical of Ramos (right) ever since he injured Liverpool star Mo Salah
The Real Madrid skipper injured Salah’s shoulder during the Champions League final
He was critical of Ramos prior to Croatia’s Nations League game with Spain on Thursday night and carried on the insults after the beaten World Cup finalist’s dramatic 3-2 victory.
‘Haha! 3-2! Go ahead and talk now buddy. Buddy! They are a bunch of p******,’ Lovren said on a live Instagram story, before adding that he ‘elbowed him good’ in Croatian.’
Now Van Dijk has added further fuel to the flames by backing up Lovren’s assertion that Raphael Varane is on a different level to his centre back partner at Real.
‘He is a great player and I respect what he has achieved but he is not the best, he is not my type of central defender,’ Van Dijk told De Telegraaf.
‘Ramos’ teammate at Real Madrid, Raphael Varane is my favourite. He is an excellent defender and has already won a lot.’
Lovren claimed Ramos is overrated last month and continued the barbs on Thursday night
The defender went on Instagram after Croatia beat Spain 3-2 saying he ‘elbowed him good’
Van Dijk has agreed with Lovren’s opinion that Raphael Varane is a better player than Ramos
Van Dijk insisted he did not know if the challenge on Salah was deliberate, but his suggestion that Real’s game-plan altered immediately after he was taken off speaks volumes.
‘I do not know if it was deliberate but mentally something changed when Salah came off,’ the Dutch defender added.
‘Suddenly, Marcelo, [Karim] Benzema and [Cristiano] Ronaldo all appeared at Trent and released the entire right side. With Salah they never dared to do that.
‘The match could have been different. I sometimes think about the match but I hope to be in the final again and on the right side of the score.’
