Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has suggested he could quit the club after an “emotional” end to the season.
The 33-year-old is only under contract for one more year at Merseyside ahead of Arne Slot’s first season in charge, after the Dutch coach took over from Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout.
Speaking after Wednesday night’s Euro 2024 defeat for the Netherlands at the hands of England, Van Dijk admitted there is some doubt over his future for both club and country.
When asked by reporters post-match, he replied: “I haven't the slightest idea right now.
“I will think carefully this summer about what I want at club level and as an international player.
“Then we'll go for it again, but first recover from this.
“After a season like this, where all kinds of things have happened, it gets emotional at the end because you know it's over.”
Van Dijk said earlier this year that he wants to be “a part of” what will be a “big transition” at Liverpool in the first of the post-Klopp years.
It would be a major surprise to see him depart before his contract expires but international retirement would be less of a shock for a player with 74 caps for the Oranje.
Van Dijk hammered referee Felix Zwayer after England’s controversial penalty levelled up the semi-final tie in Dortmund, before Ollie Watkins struck late to break Dutch hearts.
He said: “Especially in the second half I had the feeling the outcome would fall our way. But Watkins was perhaps given a little too much space and he finished well.
“It hurts a lot that we conceded this goal so late in the match and are now empty-handed. You put everything into it, everyone gives everything and if the goal comes like that in the last minute, that just sucks. Sorry.”
