Virgil van Dijk has named Jordan Henderson as the reason behind his move to Liverpool .
Holland international van Dijk moved from Southampton to the Reds in a then-record £75million fee for a defender in January 2018.
The 28-year-old attempted to force his way out of St Mary's for months before eventually departing, and he has now admitted midfielder Henderson, who he shares an agent with, was the driving force steering the transfer.
“He painted the picture for me and made it easy to join,” the 28-year-old centre-half told ESPN FC .
Van Dijk was in demand at the time, with Manchester City and Manchester United also keen, but the famous Anfield crowd also played a part in luring him to Merseyside.
“That summer when I made the decision until I actually joined the club, I had so many Liverpool fans coming up to me wherever I went - everywhere - telling me how much they wanted me to sign for the club.
“That gave me a bit of a feeling of how big Liverpool is and how passionate the supporters are.
“When you look at the Barcelona game [in last season’s Champions League semi-finals], the scenes from the parade in the city and you watch videos of them celebrating all over the world, it says everything. It's unbelievable to be involved in something so special.
“I think the minimum you can do at such a beautiful and big club is to give everything you've got and have no regrets when you leave the pitch because you know you did everything in your power to win the game. The fans appreciate that.
“That's the mentality we all have in the squad; we will work every yard of the pitch and work for each other: it's our base.
“No one can blame us for not trying, for not having ambition because we give everything.”
