Virgil van Dijk's Career Explained: From Celtic to Liverpool Captain

Virgil van Dijk has been Liverpool’s captain since July 2023, and after two Premier League titles, a Champions League crown, and a string of individual honors few defenders ever collect, he’s now nearing nine years at Anfield. The Dutch center-back’s path there ran through the Netherlands, Scotland, and the English south coast long before it reached Merseyside. Here’s how his career unfolded — and what’s happening with him as of late September 2026.

Where did Van Dijk’s career start before Celtic and Liverpool?

Van Dijk started his professional career in the Netherlands, at FC Groningen, before a move to Scotland turned him into one of Europe’s most sought-after young defenders. He came up through Groningen’s academy and first team between 2011 and 2013. Celtic then signed him in 2013, and over two seasons in Glasgow he won back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles (2013–14 and 2014–15) and a Scottish League Cup, performances that put him on the radar of clubs further south.

How did Van Dijk get from Celtic to Liverpool?

Van Dijk left Celtic for Southampton in 2015, then moved from Southampton to Liverpool on 1 January 2018 for a fee reported at the time as a world record for a defender. He spent three seasons on England’s south coast establishing himself as a top-flight center-back before Liverpool made its move in the January 2018 transfer window. The signing is now widely regarded as one of the more effective in the club’s history: within about eighteen months, Van Dijk had helped turn a previously shaky Liverpool defense into the foundation for a sustained run of success.

What has Van Dijk won since joining Liverpool?

Van Dijk has won a Champions League, two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and a League Cup since arriving at Anfield in 2018.

He lifted the Champions League in 2018–19, when Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 in the final, and helped the club win the 2019–20 Premier League — its first top-flight title in 30 years. Liverpool added the FA Cup and League Cup in 2021–22, a season in which the team also finished runner-up in both the Premier League and the Champions League. Van Dijk then captained the side to a second Premier League title in 2024–25 under new manager Arne Slot.

What individual awards has Van Dijk won?

Van Dijk is one of the few defenders ever to win a major global player-of-the-year award, taking both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and UEFA’s Men’s Player of the Year for the 2018–19 season. He also finished runner-up for the 2019 Ballon d’Or, behind Lionel Messi, in one of the closer votes on record, and was runner-up for The Best FIFA Men’s Player that same year. Honors of that caliber almost always go to attacking players, which is part of why Van Dijk’s 2018–19 run stood out regardless of position.

How did his ACL injury affect his career?

A ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, suffered in a collision with Everton’s goalkeeper on 17 October 2020, ruled Van Dijk out for nearly all of the 2020–21 season. He underwent surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation, then returned to first-team action in August 2021 ahead of the following campaign. Within a year of his comeback he had reestablished himself as one of the world’s top center-backs, a recovery often cited as one of the more complete comebacks from a serious knee injury in the modern game.

What is Van Dijk’s role with the Netherlands national team?

Van Dijk made his senior debut for the Netherlands in October 2015 and has captained the national team since March 2018. Under his captaincy, the Netherlands reached the final of the 2019 UEFA Nations League, losing to Portugal, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they were eliminated by eventual champions Argentina. He remains a first-choice starter and captain for the national side.

When did Van Dijk become Liverpool’s captain?

Van Dijk was named Liverpool’s captain in July 2023, succeeding Jordan Henderson, and led the team to a Premier League title in his third season with the armband. Liverpool clinched the 2024–25 Premier League with games to spare, and Van Dijk became the first Dutch player to captain a Premier League title-winning team. He remains Liverpool’s starting center-back and captain heading into the 2026–27 season.

What is the latest on Van Dijk’s Liverpool contract?

As of late September 2026, Van Dijk’s Liverpool contract runs through July 2027, and by his own account no talks over an extension have started. Asked directly about a new deal, he said he was “just focusing on the present” rather than discussing an extension. Reporting in the days before this article’s publication describes Liverpool drawing up contingency plans in case Van Dijk leaves as a free agent next summer, and various reports have linked him to clubs in Italy and Turkey, with separate reports floating interest from a Spanish club. Some of that same linkage has, in turn, been described as overstated or dismissed by sources close to Liverpool. None of it is confirmed, and nothing here should be read as a prediction of whether Van Dijk signs an extension, moves in a transfer, or leaves on a free transfer — it remains an unresolved, developing story, with the January 2027 transfer window and the summer 2027 contract expiry as the two points most likely to bring clarity.

The bottom line

Van Dijk’s résumé — a Champions League title, two Premier League titles, a near-miss on the Ballon d’Or, and a full recovery from a serious knee injury — already places him among the best center-backs of his generation, and he’s still Liverpool’s captain and first-choice defender as the 2026–27 season continues. What happens with his contract remains genuinely unresolved; we’ll update this once there’s confirmed news rather than more speculation.