The sacrifice made by Van Dijk’s wife to enable Virgil to succeed as a football player: “I loved it but had to quit.”

In their hometown of Breda, Virgil van Dijk and Rike Nooitgedagt began dating as youngsters.

Rike managed fashion sales while Virgil was establishing his career as a professional football player. When the pair relocated to Scotland and the tall Dutchman joined Celtic, she left her position.

“I sold various fashion brands to the stores in Holland while working as a sales manager,” Rike Nooitgedagt clarified in 2019.

“I had to step down to follow my man wherever football takes him, even though I loved it.” We’ve been getting along great so far and enjoying outings with our cute dog.

The journey continues, and Virgil and Rike became happy parents with the birth of their first daughter, Nila, in 2014 and their second daughter, Jadi, in 2016.