Liverpool star Van Dijk recently spoke about his more than 10 years of playing in the Premier League in an interview, and expressed his pride and gratitude for being the captain of Liverpool.

The 34-year-old Dutch star Van Dijk started playing in the Premier League in September 2015 when he joined Southampton and played for the Saints for about three years.

Van Dijk said: "These 10 years feel great and represent determination. This is a great league and, in my opinion, everyone is eager to participate in it. And being able to play here for 10 years is incredible and proud. My first season at Southampton was really great and we had a record-breaking season under Koeman's coaching. He gave me the opportunity to play in the Premier League and I will always be grateful to him."

After his career at Southampton ended, Van Dijk joined Liverpool in 2017 and later became the team's captain. During this period, Van Dijk also won two Premier League titles, one Champions League title, one FA Cup title, two League Cup titles and other major awards.

"Honestly, these goals were once distant dreams," Van Dijk said. "But I can't deny that when I joined Liverpool, I did hope to achieve what I have achieved today, including becoming captain, becoming the first Dutch captain to lift the Premier League trophy, winning the Champions League and the cups we won, all of which helped me get to where I am today."

"It was a huge honour to be the third captain just six months after joining the club. I've learnt a lot since then and I'm an observer who listens, gathers information and doesn't forget it. It's very important in terms of the values and what it takes to be a Liverpool player, how to represent the club in the UK and around the world."

You have to create an environment for your teammates to perform.

Van Dijk continued, "This is very natural for me. Maybe in the second year after joining, I felt this sense of responsibility. In the end, everything depends on personal behavior, because everyone is watching you, and the players who join the team in the future will also watch our behavior. Now you are the 'new Henderson'. This is a special role that not every player will experience. But for me, it is something to be proud of. Being the captain of Liverpool requires dealing with many things that the outside world cannot see, and I am really proud to be able to take on this responsibility."

"I feel a responsibility to care about everyone, and I feel sad if someone is down or criticized. We try our best to perform, and no one wants to perform poorly, but we are all human beings, that's the fact. I am certainly not fighting alone. I have Robertson, Salah, Alisson and Gomez around me, who are all core players who have been in the team for many years. They are also doing their job, which is good."

In addition, Liverpool will travel to Newcastle to challenge Newcastle in the second round of the 2025/26 Premier League.

Van Dijk added: "Last season was a huge change. I think a lot of people underestimate that change now because we won the league. Changing a manager who has been in charge for many years and has had a huge impact on the team, the club and even the whole city is a huge change. Now we rarely talk about it because we were the Premier League champions last season."