In order to preserve his health rather than play fewer games, Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk has stated he would be willing to forfeit a portion of his pay. Before this international break, the defender brought up the topic of playing time during the Netherlands’ pre-match press conference. Professional players are being asked to play far too many games these days, according to managers and players, which is a growing source of concern in the game.
Van Dijk is well aware of this, as his status in the Dutch team and at Liverpool means he is consistently one of the players playing a high number of games each season. They believe that professionals are being put in danger by the combination of league games, cup competitions, and international fixtures, which see some players play upwards of 60 games annually.
For a while now, there have been talks between different organizations to try and simplify the football schedule. This is a challenging process because there are multiple football organizations, in addition to broadcasters, sponsors, and other parties. Journalist Valentijn Driessen brought up the topic with the Liverpool star, pointing out that it is a debate that is still going on, asking if the defender would be open to forgoing 10% of his yearly salary in exchange for playing fewer games. However, Van Dijk saw things differently. Growing in frequency is this. This leads to the conversation.
According to him, it is imperative that we, as players, address the issue and come up with a resolution. We must be present on the field. The importance of health slightly outweighs that of wealth. Hopefully, a fix will be found for that. “I would forfeit ten percent of my income for my health. We need to address this as a group. both as captains and as players. With the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), we are discussing this; a solution is needed. “Because my pay shouldn’t be based on how few matches I play.”. We should play fewer matches regardless of my salary, despite your attempts to persuade me to say something nice now. “.
