'It's incredible' - Van Dijk reveals Camp Nou is his favourite away ground and admits soft spot for Barca

• Van Dijk admits Barcelona soft spot
• Hails Dutch influence on the club
• Says Camp Nou is his favourite ground to play at

WHAT HAPPENED? Van Dijk has opened up on how Barcelona is a club that has given him a lot of inspiration over the years. Appearing on Gary Neville's The Overlap, the defender outlined how the Dutch connection meant he always kept a close eye on the Blaugrana, and how it was an honour for him to play at the Camp Nou.

WHAT HE SAID: Neville asked Van Dijk whether Barcelona had offered him any inspiration in his career, to which Van Dijk responded: "Yeah definitely. I think most of it was because of Barcelona but also the Dutch connection at the time. There was so many Dutch players there, Frank Rijkaard was the coach there, you had [Frank & Ronald] De Boer, Kluivert was there as a striker, there was all these players at the time."

When Neville's asked him what the best away stadium to play in Van Dijk said: "That a difficult one as well, but I would say Camp Nou, Barcelona. Obviously for myself, watching a lot of Barcelona games when I was younger and then being able to play in it with Celtic the first time and getting beat 6-1 was tough. But to be able to play there was a big one, I really enjoyed it. It is incredible, it's insane."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Van Dijk has had much of his success during his career with Liverpool and has Barcelona to thank for that in part. The Reds' miraculous Champions League comeback against Barca saw them reach the final and win the competition, their first major trophy under Jurgen Klopp.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

WHAT NEXT FOR VAN DIJK? Both parties are back to European duties this week, with Liverpool travelling to Amsterdam to face Ajax knowing a point would secure passage to the knockout stages.