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Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk was allegedly holding out for a call from Real Madrid before he put pen to paper on his contract extension at Anfield. This bombshell revelation comes just hours before the two football giants go head-to-head in the Champions League, with rumours suggesting that after no interest was shown by Los Blancos, the Dutch defender accepted Liverpool's offer.

Van Dijk found himself in the middle of a season-long impasse over his future at Anfield as his contract, along with those of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah, were due to expire at the end of the campaign. In the end, Salah and Van Dijk chose to stay on Merseyside and signed new contracts, while the England right-back decided to part ways with the club as he joined Tuesday night's rivals, Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold is expected to make a comeback against his old team in the upcoming round of Champions League matches, and according to AS, things could have turned out differently. The publication alleges that Van Dijk was waiting for a conversation with the Spanish titans, and his representatives reached out to the club about a potential transfer.

However, when no such opportunity arose, he committed his future to Liverpool. It wasn't until April that it was revealed that the Liverpool captain had extended his contract beyond their Premier League-winning season.

But following their 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in the tournament's League Phase less than a year ago, Van Dijk was questioned about the possibility of a move to Spain. "What a direct question from you! They don't ask me that directly [in England]," he said.

"But listen, there is, at the moment, nothing I can say. Do they? I don't know. When pushed again, he added: "But [Antonio] Rudiger is there, no?"

Liverpool are hoping to secure their second victory in their past two Champions League fixtures, but a triumph against Xabi Alonso's outfit on Tuesday evening would provide an additional morale boost following their 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday.

The success brought their Premier League losing streak to an end, and ahead of the clash with the record Champions League winners, Van Dijk revealed that such occasions are what players 'live for'. He said in his programme notes: "Saturday was a step in the right direction, for sure, but now we need to follow that up with another big performance in a big game.

"And games don't come much bigger than Real Madrid at Anfield in the Champions League. It goes without saying that we are all really looking forward to the challenge, and I am sure you guys are as well. These are the nights you live for as a player."