Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has finally broken his silence on the bizarre claim that he 'sweats aftershave' during matches, shutting it down with a deadpan three-word retort.
Speaking to former Wycombe and AFC Wimbledon striker Adebayo Akinfenwa on the Beast Mode On podcast at the Virgil Legacy Tournament, the Dutch defender was confronted with the long-standing dressing-room myth that he smells of luxury aftershave on the pitch because he doesn't sweat.
Deeney's famous claim
The theory was first brought to prominence by former Watford striker and now Talksport pundit Troy Deeney, who famously claimed that Van Dijk smelled "too good to be playing football".
Akinfenwa put the rumour to Van Dijk directly, saying: "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's response was simple: "I don't sweat." Akinfenwa burst out laughing and branded the moment as "cold", before later claiming he would get the better of Van Dijk in a theoretical battle between the pair in their prime.
Intelligence battle
"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".
Flow state explained
The centre-back also lifted the lid on working under demanding new tacticians and maintaining a mental "flow state" as Liverpool captain.
"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," Van Dijk added.
"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."
