LIVERPOOL, England (AP) - Liverpool ended any interest in signing Virgil van Dijk and issued an apology to his club, Southampton, on Wednesday after its highly publicized links with the defender.
“We apologize to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk,” Liverpool said in a short statement.
British media reported that Southampton was ready to report Liverpool over an illegal approach for the Netherlands international, who signed a new six-year contract in May 2016.
Liverpool said it “would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation” and “respect Southampton’s position.”
Van Dijk joined Southampton from Scottish champion Celtic in September 2015.
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