Wayne Rooney sends fresh message to Virgil van Dijk after feud with Liverpool star

 Wayne Rooney has again defended his criticism of Virgil van Dijk and says the defender's form has contributed to Liverpool's struggles this season. Earlier this season, Van Dijk challenged the Manchester United legend-turned-pundit's comments about his displays for the Reds.

In November, the pair were involved in a tense exchange on Prime Video following Liverpool's Champions League win over Real Madrid. Van Dijk called the criticism of him "over the top" while Rooney stood his ground.

More recently, United defender Lisandro Martinez has responded to criticism from Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. Van Dijk has since told another pundit, Gary Neville, on Sky Sports that "ex-top players have a responsibility to the new generation" and that they should be mindful of young players' mental health in the age of social media,

When that was relayed to Rooney during his appearance on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast with Sam Allardyce, he replied: "I've been pulled up a few times because I like to speak about what I see. If a player is doing well or not doing well, you give your opinion, that's the job.

"I think Virgil and other top players need to remember that we were once players too. This is not something new. It happens and I'm sure he'll realise that when he stops playing."

Rooney then brought up his own treatment at the hands of pundits and the media, insisting he'd had it tougher than the Dutchman. He said: "Virgil van Dijk will know himself if he's had a good game or a bad game. No one's having personal attacks on players, it's an opinion, what you see.

"I've been through that probably a lot more than Virgil van Dijk has been through it. That's part of football. Players now get the benefit of all the commercial things they do and they earn a lot of money from doing that.

"They need to understand that pundits have opinions. Sometimes, pundits can go over the top. But as a player, you're judged on performances."

He then took a fresh shot at Van Dijk's form this season. After praising his performance in the defeat to Manchester City, he added: "But for many games this season, he hasn't been at his level.

"Whether that's because he's getting a little bit older, he's played a lot of games. He's been one of the best centre-backs in the world in recent seasons but he hasn't had the best of seasons, which is shown by Liverpool's position in the table."

Liverpool's title defence has been hugely disappointing, especially after spending almost £500million on new players in the summer. Arne Slot's side are sixth in the table and are in danger of missing out on Champions League football.