Virgil van Dijk is widely considered as the best defender in world football and has often been hailed as one of the very best of all time.
At 6’5’, he is a formidable beast of a defender who is not just physically astute – but is surprisingly quick for his side and an incredible game-reader too.
He’s a Premier League and Champions winner at Liverpool, while also winning multiple major individual trophies. Let’s know more about Virgil van Dijk’s parents below!
VVD was born to a Dutch father Ron Van Dijk and mother Hellen Chin fo Sieeuw, who has roots from bth Africa and China. He also has a younger brother, Jordan and even younger sister, Jennifer.
Virgil’s childhood was marred with trouble
When he was 11 years old, his father left the family after getting into numerous quarrels with Hellen.
Virgil did live with his father for a while at first, before deciding to go live with his mother – as a result of which Ron Van Dijk decided to break off contact with the rest of his family.
This was even though Ron was reportedly the one to take him to training sessions and got him signed up for the WDS’19 football academy – the first team he played for in his life.
Virgil developed great animosity for his father for leaving his family and leaving his mother to take care of three children, with his teenage years undergoing major problems.
In fact, the reason why he prefers to have the name ‘Virgil’ at the back of his shirt rather than his surname is because of his disgust towards his dad.
Van Dijk’s uncle from his mother’s side, Steven Fo Sieeuw spoke about his feud with his father and said –
His dad split with his mother and his three children, including Virgil, who found it hard to forgive him for that. The truth is his dad was not around for so many important years and it is his mother who is the real hero of this story. You don’t take your dad’s name off your shirt without a reason and Virgil has made it very clear how he feels. Ron is a nice guy but you need to be more than that to be a good father. You have to be there for your children. Ron married again and his new wife was very domineering, so he didn’t see his kids much. I feel for Virgil, it’s like he’s been caught in the middle.
Incidentally, Ron Van Dijk has his own version of the story in relating to claiming that he played a bigger role in making his son a world-class footballer than his mother – whom he claims never care about his footballing abilities before he started making money.
He once said –
I am the only person who knows what has made Virgil the man he is today. No one on his mother’s side ever bothered with Virgil and his football until he became a professional. I have one word for you on that matter — money.
Though Virgil clearly disagrees as he admitted how his father leaving made him become a better person –
What exactly happened is private and I won’t tell the media. It’s nobody’s business. But my father is no longer in my life. That definitely plays a role in how I am with my kids. I will never abandon my kids. Never. I will always be there for them.
Is Virgil Van Dijk still in contact with his father Ron?
Virgil simply cut out his father Ron from his life after he left the family, not showing interest in wanting to stay with him after the separation –
When I first lived with him [Ron] for a while and after that I chose to go back with my mother. At that time my brother and sister already lived with her. Then I broke all contact with my dad. At the beginning it wasn’t nice but I don’t need him any more. My father tried to re-establish contact but I don’t want to see him. When I get older maybe I will talk to him again, but at this moment I don’t have any feeling for him.
Virgil did reportedly try to somewhat reconcile with Ron after moving to England.
But his dad refused to travel to Southampton for a game because he felt his son’s actions were forced and ingenuine. Ron’s close friend Ico Staneke recalled the incident –
When he was at Southampton, Virgil invited him down for a game but he said no, he felt it was a token gesture.
The two have not had any public appearances since then, nor have there been reports of them ever making amends either. It seems that the Liverpool captain is more than happy in not having his father in his life and is focused on being the ideal family man for his own wife and children.
