Henderson Leaves, Virgil Van Dijk Becomes Liverpool's New Captain

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk. (Photo: Twitter/@LFC)

JAKARTA Liverpool announced their new captain on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, in the midst of their pre-season activities in Singapore. Virgil van Dijk was officially appointed Liverpool's new captain following Jordan Henderson's departure to Saudi Arabia.

The club nicknamed the Reds also officially appointed Trent Alexander-Arnold as vice captain after James Milner left to join Brighton earlier this summer.

"It was a very proud day for me, my wife, my children, my family. It was a special feeling and I couldn't describe it at this point, but it's something that I'm very, very proud of," Van Dijk was quoted as saying on the Liverpool website.

The 32-year-old footballer, who arrived at Anfield from Southampton in 2018, has made 222 appearances for the Reds.

This captain position is nothing new for Van Dijk because he also played the same role in the Dutch national team.

Van Dijk was promoted after becoming Liverpool's third captain last season under Henderson and James Milner.

VVD joins our list of @premierleague captains👌 pic.twitter.com/Q1qLPKO8ZI

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 31, 2023

VVD joins our list of @premierleague candidates pic.twitter.com/Q1qLPKO8ZI

Henderson and Milner officially left as part of the team's midfield reshuffle as Jurgen Klopp wanted to rebuild the squad after finishing last season in fifth place in the Premier League.

Results that made the club fail to qualify for the European Champions League for the first time since 2016.

"Last year was a very disappointing year. It was actually not a bad journey. However, in the end we didn't achieve anything we expected and it was very disappointing," said van Dijk.

Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino have also left the club. Those names are the players who were part of the squad that won the English Premier League title in 2020.

Instead Liverpool recruited World Cup winner midfielder with Argentina, Alexis Mac Allister and Hungarian international Dominik Szoboszlai, from RB Leipzig.