Virgil van Dijk celebrates his 31st birthday with incredible club records

Virgil van Dijk has been nothing short of a revelation for Liverpool since arriving at the start of 2018 and with Thursday his 30th birthday, here are 30 of his incredible achievements.

The Dutchman has played a pivotal role in the Reds’ rise to the top of world football in recent years, a transformational signing who swiftly ensured his £75 million price tag was a bargain.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIRGIL; VAN DIJK

Here are 30 of the best since he officially arrived at Anfield, in January 2018:

– The most expensive transfer in Liverpool’s history following his £75 million transfer from Southampton

– Only the 18th player to score on his Liverpool debut in the modern era

– The fourth Dutchman to ever win PFA Player of the Year

– The fifth player to play every top-flight game in a Premier League-winning season

– Has never lost a league game at Anfield, winning 42 of his 47 outings on the ground

– Only the 24th player to score on his Anfield debut

– Played every single minute in 74 consecutive Premier League games – a run that stretched from Sep 2018 – Oct 2020

– Finished second in the Ballon d’Or in 2019

– The first defender to be crowned UEFA Men’s Player of the Year

– Did not have a player successfully dribble past him in 50 Premier League appearances

– First defender to have a 99 rated card on FIFA

– The second-ever Liverpool FIFA cover star

– Was only the twelfth defender to make it into the top three of Ballon d’Or

– The first Liverpool player to start every game in back-to-back seasons in the Premier League era (2018/19 and 2019/20)

– Held record for most completed passes in one half of football in Premier League with 77, in the 3-1 win over Arsenal in September 2020 – surpassing Thiago

– Became the first Red to win UEFA Defender of the Season in 2018/19

– Only second Dutchman to wear the captain’s armband for Liverpool, behind Dirk Kuyt

– One of only four players to be named in FIFA FIFPro World11 in two different seasons

– Has tasted defeat just 21 times in a total of 130 appearances for Liverpool

– The sixth defender to win the PFA Player of the Year across 46 seasons

– From January 2018 to September 2020, no center-back scored more than Van Dijk (10) in the Premier League

– The only Liverpool player to feature for every single minute of the club’s remarkable 44-game unbeaten run in the Premier League from January 2019 to February 2020.