Liverpool legend dismisses Virgil van Dijk burnout claim - despite remarkable statistics

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SportFootballLiverpool FCLiverpool captain Virgil van Dijk made 64 appearances for club and country last season and played more minutes than any other outfield player in the Premier LeagueLiverpool legend John Barnes insists he is not concerned about the prospect of burnout for skipper Virgil van Dijk.Van Dijk was the only outfield player to play every minute in the 2025/26 Premier League season.The Netherlands captain played a total of 5,661 minutes across all competitions, which marks him out as the player currently competing at the World Cup who featured the most for his club in the previous campaign.Van Dijk, who turns 35 next month, started 64 times for Liverpool and Netherlands across the season.But Barnes says he is not worried about the veteran playing too much ahead of a new campaign under Andoni Iraola when he is once again expected to be integral.“Phil Neal played every game for six seasons at Liverpool," Barnes told Betfair. "Players nowadays take very good care of themselves, they’re fit and centre-backs play longer than others."He doesn’t run around the pitch like a midfielder, up and down."He’s experienced and I’m not worried about Virgil playing every minute of every game.

He’ll be fine.”Van Dijk scored and was named the the player of the match in the Netherlands' 2-2 draw with Japan on Sunday night.Next up for the Dutch, whose squad also contains two more Reds players in Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo, is a showdown with Alexander Isak's Sweden in Houston, Texas on Saturday.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook pageChoose Liverpool Echo as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.Liverpool FCVirgil van Dijk