Matthijs de Ligt has already made feelings on Virgil van Dijk clear amid criticism

Virgil van Dijk's comments should hit home for Matthijs de Ligt as he holds his Netherlands team-mate in the highest regard.

Manchester United's summer signing endured a frustrating international break with his nation. De Ligt returned to the Dutch starting XI after getting no minutes at Euro 2024.

Ronald Koeman started him in both of their Nations League fixtures in place of the injured Stefan de Vrij. But following a blunder in their 5-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday, De Ligt made another error in last night's 2-2 draw with Germany.

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The 25-year-old lost possession in defence, leading to Deniz Undav cancelling out Tijjani Reijnders' early goal. Koeman replaced him at half-time with Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke, while captain Van Dijk stated in his post-match interview that his defensive partner "has to learn".

While some have suggested that the Liverpool centre-back was harsh on his club rival, De Ligt will no doubt value his opinion, having given him the highest praise in 2022. When asked by ESPN if they were the best partnership in international football, he responded: "We could be, I don't know.

"That's not for us to decide or for us to say. Plus, we play with three at the back, but I know what you mean. I think Virgil is one of the best centre-backs in the world. He is amazing. He has already shown for a couple of years that he is one of the best, if not the best.

"If we could be the best? I don't know, the most important thing is that we play good as a team. You can play good as a partnership, but