Earlier this month, Rooney has claimed that Van Dijk and team-mate Mohamed Salah had not "really led that team this season" as the club stumbled one year after winning the Premier League title under manager Arne Slot.
The Dutchman responded, saying Rooney’s comments were “lazy criticism” and now the former England international has doubled down as he goes after the Liverpool star once more.
“Virgil van Dijk’s similar to (Mohamed) Salah, you know, over the last five years he’s been one of, if not the best defender in the world, and last year it was hard to say anything bad because they were that good, and he was that good.
“I’m sure he’ll come out and tell you, he probably hasn’t been at his best this season, if he’s honest with himself. And as captain, your job as captain if things aren’t going right, is to speak to your team-mates, call meetings with your team-mates, and that’s really what I was saying. You know, as a captain, as a leader, I’m sure he will have been doing that.
“I've got full respect for Virgil. I think he's a fantastic player. My job now as a pundit is to give my opinions on what I feel. I'm sure if you ask him or Arne Slot, he probably hasn't been as good as he has been over the last few years. That was my comment which I stick by.”
Liverpool got out of their results rut on Saturday night with a 2-0 home win against Aston Villa thanks to goals from Salah and Ryan Gravenberch. Van Dijk led his side to 3 points but he will have to do a lot more to convince the likes of Rooney that he can command the side.