Virgil van Dijk says the departing Roberto Firmino will be remembered as "one of the legends" of Liverpool when he walks away this summer.
The Brazil forward will make an emotional exit at the end of the season after eight largely trophy-laden years at Anfield where he won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Liverpool's first-ever Club World Cup in December 2019.
Firmino has scored 108 times for the Reds and registered his most recent as a substitute in Sunday's extraordinary 7-0 win over Manchester United at Anfield.
It is understood the No.9 has not yet decided on his next move but it's been reported the 31-year-old will not join another Premier League club out of respect for Liverpool.
Speaking after the demolition of their fierce rivals at Anfield, Van Dijk paid tribute to his colleague and his achievements during his time with Liverpool, who he joined from German club Hoffenheim in the summer of 2015.
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"I think that position of a false 9 is Bobby Firmino's," Van Dijk said. "He is the one that showed over the years how difficult it is for any other player to perform it but also for others to defend that.
"As a player, you can't deny how important he is for the success that we had; for Mo (Salah), for Sadio (Mane) in the past but also for the players that still are here, for example, in Cody (Gakpo) to learn from him each and every day.
"But as a human being as well, he's a great guy and I wish him obviously all the best after the summer. But for now we still have targets to reach and he knows that and he wants to make sure that we fulfil that as well.
"He's been so influential for this football club and he should definitely be remembered as one of the legends."
Van Dijk helped Jurgen Klopp's side to their fifth successive clean sheet in the win over United on Sunday and he said such a historic victory should be so easily glossed over.
"A good win, a clean sheet," Van Dijk added. "That's a good feeling. We're looking for improvement and another improvement from the Wolves game I think. You guys can say whatever you want. We try to win games and it's been a difficult season but today was a great day.
"I think our focus has always been one game at a time and that doesn't change. That's what we try to do as well. But obviously winning today here, bettering the result that we did against them, to do it this time a little bit better is obviously a good feeling.
"We should not take these results for granted but there are many more games to play in order to get what we want. In this case, that's Champions League football and that's what we focus on.
"We shouldn't just brush it off like it's any other day. We won 7-0 in a difficult season that we've had. You should be able to stand still and enjoy that a little bit but it's a game and today we will recover, tomorrow the focus will turn and it's another week towards Bournemouth. That's the reality and that's the life we all live so today we should definitely enjoy this a little bit."
Asked if Van Dijk thought it was the best game he had ever played in the Premier League, the Netherlands captain responded: "What a question! I would say the away game against United (5-0 win) was quite nice as well but listen, you win 7-0 against one of your closest rivals, it's a good feeling and especially in the situation that we are in.
"I don't know if it's the best game that we've played. I think we were very very good over a period of time in the last couple of years so I can't really remember half of the games.
"I think we all said that we have to keep pushing, keep going and obviously also defending that we make sure we keep the clean sheet so I think that's the reason why we created the opportunities and scored them as well.
"We'll see [about the top four]. That was always the case. It's a game ahead of us and try to improve. The next game is Bournemouth. That will be tough: 12.30, early kick-off, always difficult over there, small stadium but we should be full of confidence but be very humble and ready for a tough game."
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