“I like the fact he’s prickly” - Rio Ferdinand makes stance clear on ex-Manchester United teammate Rooney and Liverpool star Van Dijk's spat

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand responded to his former teammate Wayne Rooney's criticism of Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. Rooney's comments were made before the Reds' 2-0 Premier League home win over Aston Villa at the weekend.

Arne Slot's side - riding a four-game losing streak in the league (and six defeats in seven games across competitions) - arrested their alarming slide with a comprehensive win over Villa. Mohamed Salah opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time lead before Ryan Gravenberch made it 2-0 early in the second period.

“This is a time where the manager and the leaders in the team need to figure it out very quickly," Rooney said on his eponymous The Wayne Rooney show (as per TBR). "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.”

Van Dijk responded to Rooney's 'lazy criticism':

“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 a bit of a lazy criticism. “It’s easy to blame the older players, but he knows as well as everyone else that we do it together and try to help each other to get out of this. There are so many platforms nowadays that everyone can say whatever they like, and it gets blown up.”

Ferdinand offered his take on the Rooney-Van Dijk spat on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast:

"I absolutely love that Virgil van Dijk, the captain of Liverpool is coming out and saying, I ain’t having what people are saying, I don’t agree with that, and I don’t agree with that. I think it’s brilliant. This is what you want. “This is what you need. You need players of character, a bit of person. Now, whether you agree with him or not, it’s a different conversation. But I like the fact that he’s prickly, and he reads it, and he sees it. He hears it, and he goes, no, I’m not having that, and I want to call it out.”

Liverpool's four-game league losing streak included a 2-1 home loss to their arch-rivals Manchester United.

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What's next for Liverpool and Manchester United?

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim

Liverpool and Manchester United have had decent seasons, with the latter recovering after a patchy start. Ruben Amorim's side are now eighth in the standings, with 17 points from 10 games, a point behind the third-placed Reds.

Manchester United are unbeaten in four league games - winning three on the trot - next take on Tottenham Hotspur away in the league on Saturday (November 8). Meanwhile, the Reds are next in action in the UEFA Champions League, where they host 15-time champions Real Madrid on Tuesday (November 4).

Following their European commitment, Liverpool travel to second-placed Manchester City on Sunday (November 9) as they look for back-to-back league wins for the frst time since September.

Edited by Bhargav