Virgil van Dijk: Liverpool Have a 'Fantastic Future' Ahead of Them After UCL Win

Virgil van Dijk has said Liverpool have a "fantastic future" ahead after winning their sixth UEFA Champions League title and finishing second to Manchester City in the Premier League this season.

The Netherlands captain was a constant talisman at the centre of Jurgen Klopp's defence, and Van Dijk told Liverpool's official website there are more bright moments in store:

"I think the future looks pretty bright. 

"We have a fantastic team with players that want to develop, that want to give everything for the team and for the club.

"[There is] so much quality in the team; sometimes you don't even realise how good [a group of] players we have—and also on the bench that want to play and be part of the team. So we have a fantastic future coming up."

Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, to end their seven-year wait for a major trophy, having last won the Carabao Cup under Kenny Dalglish in 2012.

Fans greeted the team in massive numbers after they returned to Merseyside in early May, via Agence France-Presse:

Van Dijk wasn't afraid to compliment his own performance—and rightly so—over the course of the season, and he hailed his fellow defenders: 

“I have been consistent. I've been feeling great, with the help—obviously—of all my teammates. But everyone has been fantastic.

“If you look around the team, [Andy Robertson] has had his best season ever. Trent [Alexander-Arnold] has been amazing for such a young guy, so mature. And all the centre-backs. And obviously the rest of the team have been performing at such a high level.”

The Reds conceded 22 goals in the Premier League last season, the fewest of any team in the division. Team-mate Georgino Wijnaldum also recently praised the consistency his Dutch countryman has brought to Liverpool, per the club's website (h/t Anfield HQ):

Defending their European crown will be a tough task, but overturning Pep Guardiola's City to end their wait for a Premier League title is another major objective for Klopp.

As impressive as the Reds were before finishing just one point below the Citizens, football writer Andrew Beasley illustrated City's own consistency and the edge that gives them:

Liverpool recently celebrated their best 10 goals from the 2018-19 campaign, featuring a couple of essential strikes from super substitute Divock Origi:

Klopp has restored a squad depth at Anfield that's allowed the team to weather rough patches in a way they couldn't before, as well as signing quality players who have boosted the XI in key areas.

Van Dijk is arguably the greatest example of that evolution in defence, and the Liverpool leader appears ready to reach new heights with his club in 2019-20.