![\"Virgil](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_GettyImages-2233801116.jpg\")
Virgil van Dijk training prior to Netherlands’ World Cup qualifier against Poland(Image: Alex Bierens de Haan – UEFA\/UEFA via Getty Images)<\/p>\nFormer Manchester United forward Memphis Depay managed to score just seven goals in 53 appearances before being sold to LyonVirgil van Dijk training prior to Netherlands’ World Cup qualifier against Poland(Image: Alex Bierens de Haan – UEFA\/UEFA via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has sent his congratulations to former Manchester United<\/a> forward Memphis Depay after he became the Netherlands’ all-time record goalscorer during the September international break.<\/p>\n Heading into the clash with Lithuania during World Cup qualifying, Memphis<\/a> found himself level on goals scored with United favourite Robin van Persie<\/a>. Both men had managed 50 strikes for the proud European nation.<\/p>\n However, the 31-year-old’s brace which included both the opener and the winner ensured that the forward is now the outright leading goalscorer for his nation ahead of Van Persie, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (42), Patrick Kluivert (40), Arjen Robben and Dennis Bergkamp (both on 37) who round out the top five.<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, the forward was inundated with congratulation messages on his achievement including from Van Dijk. Sharing a picture of Memphis celebrating on his Instagram story, the Liverpool centre-back <\/a>wrote: “History!<\/p>\n “Congratulations bro on becoming the Netherlands’ top goalscorer of all time! Unbelievable achievement – proud of you.”<\/p>\n Memphis arrived at Old Trafford<\/a> in 2015 with many expecting him to replicate his stellar form at PSV Eindhoven in the Premier League<\/a>. However, after 53 appearances and two years at the club, the forward managed to bag just seven goals and five assists before being sold to Ligue 1 club Lyon.<\/p>\n In France, Memphis revitalised his career as he managed 76 goals in 178 appearances which would earn him a move to Barcelona in 2021 after four years with Lyon. His spell in Spain proved to be underwhelming at Barca as well as Atletico Madrid and he was released from the latter club in 2024.<\/p>\n The Madrid club proved to be his last in Europe with the forward moving to Brazilian giants Corinthians last September. After a fast start to life in Brazil, the goals have dried up somewhat this year for Memphis but he has managed to keep a high standard of performances for his national team.<\/p>\n In their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, which began in July, Memphis has managed five goals already, including the historic brace against Lithuania on Sunday. The 31-year-old must now wait until October to potentially extend his lead over Van Persie in the Dutch rankings when they travel to Malta and host Finland.<\/p>\n Here at The Manchester Evening News, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United<\/a> coverage and analysis.<\/p>\n Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here<\/strong><\/a> to subscribe.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here<\/strong><\/a> to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.<\/p>\n And, finally, if you would rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify<\/strong><\/a> and Apple Podcasts<\/strong><\/a>, and you can also watch along on YouTube<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay managed to score just seven goals in 53 appearances before being sold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,763,2465,423,64601,97156,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-407833","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool-fc","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-manchester-united-fc","14":"tag-memphis-depay","15":"tag-robin-van-persie","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115168763316737844","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Virgil](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_Screenshot-2025-09-08-115938.jpg\")
Virgil van Dijk congratulates Memphis Depay on Instagram<\/p>\n