Just last year, Virgil van Dijk came closer to winning the Ballon d'Or than any centre-back since Fabio Cannavaro, but the Liverpool star has insisted that he still has room for improvement both at club and international level.
The Dutchman was named as UEFA's Player of the Year for the 2018/19 season after helping Liverpool win their sixth Champions League trophy, while he also impressed with the Netherlands at the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
Van Dijk is widely recognised as the best defender on the planet, something which he credits to Jürgen Klopp's management, but the 28-year-old believes he can still improve even more as Liverpool close in on their first Premier League title.
"There is always room for improvement; I know it and I just try to keep looking for it and keep working on it," van Dijk told BT Sport (via liverpoolfc.com). "With the help of all my teammates and obviously the manager, and also the manager of the national team - Ronald Koeman - that will definitely help me get better even now. So, I just keep doing that.
"The manager demands a lot from me and it all helped me become the player I am today. It’s a lot of tactical work, a lot of thinking. Obviously as a defender we try to keep a high line, try to put the opponent under pressure at all times. You leave a lot of space sometimes behind you so you had to deal with that as well.
"But it’s something I definitely enjoy and I knew before I joined the club this is something I had to work on in the beginning but it would definitely be something that I enjoy. And so far, so good."
Van Dijk also commented on the 'strange situation' which players across Europe find themselves in following the coronavirus outbreak which, despite stopping Liverpool winning the Premier League for now, he has stressed is the only issue people should be concerned about right now.
"it’s a strange situation for all of us, for everyone in the world - in any profession that everyone is doing. We have to adapt, we have to do things differently," he added.
"But the most important thing is definitely everyone’s health. I can only speak for my own private circle, if that’s alright then obviously that’s the most important thing."
Source : 90min