Liverpool’s legendary captain Virgil Van Dijk has finally broken his silence on the weird claim that he ‘sweats aftershave’ during a chat with former Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa
Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk has addressed the long-standing dressing-room myth that he smells of luxury aftershave during matches – because he doesn’t sweat.
The Liverpool captain, famed for his effortless composure on the pitch, has frequently been the subject of praise from teammates and rivals alike for never seemingly breaking into a panic. This strange theory once prompted former Watford striker and now Talksport pundit Troy Deeney to famously claim that the Dutch defender smelled “too good to be playing football”.
And now sitting down with former Wycombe and AFC Wimbledon cult hero Adebayo Akinfenwa on the Beast Mode On podcast at the Virgil Legacy Tournament, the Reds skipper was confronted with the bizarre locker-room legend.
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Akinfenwa said: “Word is on the street, they say when they play against you, right, you sweat aftershave. I ain’t going to lie, this is what they say: ‘Verge’s hair is done, always, and he just smells.’ So, is it true you sweat aftershave?”
Van Dijk shut down the claims with a deadpan three-word retort: “I don’t sweat.” Akinfenwa burst out laughing and branded the moment as “cold,” before later claiming that he would get the better of Van Dijk in a theoretical battle of the pair in their prime.
“You’re the type of guy, I know for a fact, that you need to feel your opponent,” Akinfenwa laughed. “I won’t let you feel me, right? So you’re going to try and beat me with intelligence. I’ll beat you with intelligence all day long.”
Van Dijk gave the claim short shrift, backing himself to come out on top every single time against the self-proclaimed “Beast”.
The centre-back also lifted the lid on working under demanding new tacticians and maintaining a mental “flow state” as Liverpool captain.
Van Dijk added: “Obviously when you’re young, your emotions can go up and down. When you get older, experience a lot more — winning finals, losing finals, injuries — it made me be in that flow state that makes me a better player.
“If you give a bad pass and you can’t control your emotions, you’re going to have a bad game. If you can control your emotions, you recover from it, the next pass will be good, and you stay in that flow state.”