Real Madrid and their PR machine were at it again before Liverpool humbled them at Anfield on Tuesday night, and not only did their attempt to derail Virgil van Dijk backfire, but it\u2019s also been exposed by Fabrizio Romano.<\/p>\n
If football were judged on who has the best PR, Real Madrid<\/a> would never lose a game. Certain elements of the Spanish press gobble up anything Real Madrid feed them \u2013 so long as it puts a positive spin on Los Blancos and helps to derail their opponents, of course.<\/p>\n Real Madrid travelled to Anfield on Tuesday night and prior to the contest, AS<\/a> reporter, Jose Felix Diaz, did his part on behalf of the LaLiga giant to ruffle Van Dijk\u2019s feathers.<\/p>\n The reporter rather curiously claimed Van Dijk<\/a> had his heart set on joining Real Madrid on a free transfer rather than signing a new contract with Liverpool<\/a> earlier in 2025.<\/p>\n \u2018The English team\u2019s captain fought tooth and nail last season to try and sign for Real Madrid,\u2019 declared Diaz.<\/p>\n The reporter added: \u2018One after another, the [Liverpool] proposals were rejected\u00a0by the Premier League champion\u2019s captain, hoping that at some point Real Madrid would look to Liverpool to reinforce the centre of defence, a circumstance that never came to pass.\u2019<\/p>\n The timing of these supposed revelations \u2013 in the hours leading up to kick-off \u2013 was obviously not a coincidence. and unfortunately for Real Madrid and their mouthpieces in the media, their mind games did not work.<\/p>\n Van Dijk was once again a tower of strength when pocketing Kylian Mbappe. Neither he nor Vinicius Jr produced a single shot on target as Real Madrid were blunted from first minute to last.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, has since poured cold water on the claims Van Dijk wanted Real Madrid.<\/p>\n Fabrizio Romano exposes nonsense Van Dijk claims<\/strong><\/p>\n Taking to YouTube<\/a>, Romano said: \u201cThere are some stories in Spain about Virgil van Dijk who wanted to go to Real Madrid on a free transfer last summer.<\/p>\n \u201cGuys, I\u2019m aware that Van Dijk really wanted to stay at Liverpool, and Van Dijk really wanted to be a crucial part of the Liverpool project.<\/p>\n \u201cSo if Van Dijk extended his contract at Liverpool it\u2019s because he really trusted the project. He\u2019s always been super keen on staying at the club and signing a new deal.<\/p>\n \u201cMy understanding is that, sometimes the stories can be told in different ways in Spain and England, it\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s also normal some times for agents when you have a world class client like Van Dijk to reach out to clubs and to understand situations, it\u2019s part of their job.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the desire of Van Dijk has always been to stay at Liverpool and to continue at the club, that must be clear, because for Van Dijk the focus has always been Liverpool Football Club.\u201d<\/p>\n Latest Liverpool news \u2013 Wirtz \/ Van Dijk vs Rooney\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n In other news,\u00a0Arsene Wenger has revealed an extraordinary condition in Florian Wirtz\u2019s transfer to Liverpool this summer that the club has so far failed to meet<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finally, our sister site, Football365, have taken a look at the full transcript of Van Dijk\u2019s exchange with Wayne Rooney<\/a> after the Reds captain addressed the bizarre criticism coming his way.<\/p>\n