"They have cooked us", "Worse than losing the match" - Liverpool fans react as Virgil van Dijk caught speaking with PSG CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was spotted talking to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Sporting Director Luis Campos after getting knocked out of the Champions League by the Ligue 1 giants.
The Dutch defender played the entirety of the second leg at Anfield on Tuesday (March 11). A 1-0 win for PSG at Anfield after 120 minutes meant the scoreline remained level across the two legs, and as a result, the game went into a penalty shootout.
Les Parisiens goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma came up clutch for his side. He denied Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones from the spot and ensured his side secured a 4-1 victory in the shootout.
Barely less than an hour after the match ended, Van Dijk was seen having a chat with two of Paris Saint-Germain's leaders. This comes amid the uncertainty surrounding his future at Anfield. Van Dijk's contract will expire at the end of this season, and he is yet to commit to a contract extension.
Van Dijk is among the three Liverpool players whose contracts will expire in the summer. Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also heading into the final six months of their stay at the Merseyside club.
While Van Dijk hasn’t been linked to PSG amid his uncertain future at Liverpool, his conversation with the club leaders has made the Reds faithful think he could be considering moving to the French capital.
Some of them took to X to express their thoughts about it, with one writing:
''PSG knocking us out of the UCL, taking VVD, taking salah. 😔 they have cooked us.''
Another tweeted:
''This is worse than losing the match. Way worse.''
''He can go if he wants ffs'' @RexChibuzo_ wrote.
''😔This is too much for one night. My poor heart'' @kingmon73 added.
''Good for him. May as well go and get a nice paycheck somewhere. We call ourselves a top club but don’t want to act like it financially'' @Realist_LFCfan chimed in.
''Liverpool fans will now turn on VVD like they did Trent. They will be keeping a close eye on Salah 😭'' @UTDTOMMY7 wrote.
''It’s part of football'' – Virgil van Dijk on Liverpool’s Champions League exit to PSG
Virgil van Dijk was disappointed with how Liverpool exited the Champions League following their penalty shootout loss to PSG. He opined that they put on a better display at Anfield as opposed to their shambolic performance in Paris and rued the fact that they lost on penalties.
The Reds skipper told Amazon Prime after the match:
“It was a very intense, great game of football. I think obviously it was a totally different Liverpool than what we showed in Paris, but unfortunately we are out on penalties and that’s the reality.''
“I think in the first half we created dangerous moments [as well as the second half] and obviously you know that they have the quality to create them as well. Eventually it comes down to penalties and unfortunately we lost.''
“It’s part of football. I said to the guys, ‘Obviously you can be disappointed because we are out of the competition but it’s chin up and get ready for the next challenge.’ It’s a beautiful one on the weekend so we go again.”
Liverpool will next take on Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, March 16.
