‘Do me a favour’ - Alan Shearer slams Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk over ‘too much football’ claim

Alan Shearer has hit back at Virgil van Dijk’s claim that Premier League players are asked to play too much football. The Liverpool star made comments in relation to the issue during international duty with Netherlands that caused a stir.

Players have often complained about the increase in fixtures over recent years, with international fixtures, in particular, causing a pile-up of fixtures, with some international windows now featuring three games, while others include meaningless friendlies.

That is not the case for the Netherlands and vVan Dijk during the current international window, with the Orange currently battling for qualification as we near the end of the Euro 2024 qualifiers, but it didn’t stop the Liverpool defender from making headlines with fresh complaints.

“In England we believe the schedules are too busy,” he claimed. “The players are getting paid well but it should never come at the cost of our health! We keep having to play more and more games. We as players should start saying something about it, contribute to a solution.”

The comments have caused a real stir, especially among the general public and fans, the majority of which work significantly longer hours for less money than what players like Van Dijk earn. The Reds star reportedly earns around £220,000-per-week, and that’s something Match of the Day pundit and Newcastle United legend Shearer referenced in his response.

“Nonsense. Players are playing too much football? What? I mean come on,” he said on The Rest is Football podcast. “I know you shouldn’t mention the money but they have bigger squads than ever, more substitutes than ever and they are getting paid more money than ever. You have the best physios, the best technology, the best of everything. Do me a favour!”