Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum have been appointed Liverpool’s third and fourth-choice captains as a result of a player vote, Jurgen Klopp has revealed.
In the absence of regular skipper Jordan Henderson and vice-captain James Milner, Van Dijk took the armband for the first time since joining the Reds as they earned a 4-0 win over Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday.
The defender’s nomination appeared to mark a change in approach from Klopp, who in the past has tended to give the captaincy to the next longest-serving player in his line-up.
But, when asked about the decision, the manager explained that it was actually down to his squad: “It probably says a lot about [him] but it was not my decision.
“I decided Henderson and Milner will stay [as captain and vice-captain] - that is the 100% logical thing to do and it would have been as well like that if we had voted.
“And then I said the next two, the players can vote, and now the two Dutch guys are in the row.
“The team decided number three for Virgil and number four for Gini Wijnaldum.
“If somebody had told me that that would happen in my life as a German, the two Dutch guys would have such an important role!
“It’s a player’s decision.”
