Wayne Rooney has retracted his earlier criticism of Virgil van Dijk’s demeanor following backlash from the Liverpool captain, who labeled it as ‘lazy’ punditry.

The former England star conceded he was mistaken in suggesting that van Dijk’s recent £400,000-a-week contract, signed in April, had caused him to become complacent.

Nevertheless, Rooney maintains that the Dutch defender’s performance has waned and believes van Dijk’s defensive reaction to criticism reveals he is too preoccupied with external opinions.

“I might have been a bit harsh when I implied he stopped trying after his new contract—that’s a serious accusation, and perhaps I was off base there,” Rooney admitted.

He continued, “Regarding his performance, I don’t think van Dijk has matched his previous standards this season. As captain, he’s likely engaging with teammates, taking them out to dinner, which he mentioned he has done. If he feels compelled to do that, something seems amiss.”

Wayne Rooney has admitted he was ‘wrong’ to suggest Virgil van Dijk had ‘downed tools’ 

Van Dijk criticised ‘lazy’ punditry after Rooney suggested his £400,000-a-week contract had affected his body language and leadership

Rooney added, “For a champion team, losing four consecutive games is unacceptable. One loss raises eyebrows, but four in a row clearly signals deeper issues.”

‘I think getting involved too much in the outside noise – that’s our job [as pundits], focus on your game. As a younger player, I’d be looking at Van Dijk and how he reacts to this – how is it going to help them? You have to get on with your game and speak internally.’

Van Dijk could have been a hero for Liverpool at the weekend after seemingly heading in their equaliser against Manchester City, only for it to be ruled out in one of the most controversial calls of the season. It was judged that Andy Robertson, who was in an offside position, had impeded Gianluigi Donnarumma’s view. 

The game got away from Liverpool from there and they lost 3-0. All the same, their Dutch skipper is not one to make excuses and has owned up to the fact that Liverpool must do better. 

The Reds sit eighth in the Premier League after 11 games. They are already 10 points worse off than they were at this stage last season, when they topped the table with 28 points after nine wins, a draw, and a loss. 

Responding to Rooney’s accusation that his and Mohamed Salah’s ‘body language’ has changed since they penned new deals, Van Dijk said: ‘I didn’t hear him last year.

‘It doesn’t hurt me. Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things but I feel that comment is just I would say it’s a bit of a lazy criticism.

‘It’s easy to blame the other players but he knows we do it together, trying to help each and every one of us to try to get out of this. Last year when things go well you don’t hear that at all. It is what it is.

Rooney and Van Dijk came face-to-face days after the dispute as Liverpool beat Real Madrid 

Rooney defended his original criticism but Van Dijk would not let him off the hook 

‘[Pundits] have to do that job. He has an opinion and we have to deal with it. There’s no hard feelings. I don’t take it personally.’

Van Dijk and Rooney came face-to-face in a tense moment on TNT Sports after Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Real Madrid on Tuesday night last week.  

”If you lose games as a Liverpool player, four or five in a row, it’s a fair criticism, but I think its over the top at times as well. But that’s because we live in a world where there’s so many platforms, so many people can say stuff and will be picked up and made bigger,’ Van Dijk said, seemingly in a nod to Rooney’s punditry.

And the Manchester United legend replied: ‘I’m not saying anything any more, I think I’ve spurred them on and put them on a winning streak!’ 

Rooney had indeed come down hard on the 34-year-old by essentially implying he had stopped working as hard ever since being put on his bumper deal, which made him Europe’s highest-paid defender. 

He said on his BBC podcast in October: ‘Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, they’ve signed new deals but I don’t think they’ve really led that team this season.

‘I think body language tells you a lot, and I think we’re seeing slightly different body language from the two of them. They are the top two players in that team and if their body language is not right, that affects everyone else. I might be wrong on this, but if I was a Liverpool fan or the manager, that would be a big concern for me.’