Rafael van der Vaart says there is no issue between him and Klopp.

The Dutch legend said he has no problem with the former Liverpool manager criticizing him over his comments about Van Dijk. Earlier this month, during a 2-2 World Cup match between the Netherlands and Japan, van der Vaart compared The Reds' captain to a Boeing 747. The comment drew a sharp response from Klopp on German TV channel Magenta TV, who said: "If he ever said something positive about a player, I would consider taking him seriously again."

Van der Vaart said he would be happy to play under Klopp and understands why the manager defends the captain he appointed at Anfield: "Jürgen Klopp is a great coach and a very good person. I have enormous respect for him. He's a manager I would have loved to play for. All players would run through a wall for him, and I also love his passion for football. I always listen to what he says; he has contributed greatly to the game. As for what he said about me, I don't mind at all. I'm not someone who gets easily upset. I only criticized certain moments from Van Dijk, and Klopp is naturally his manager. It's completely normal for him to defend him, so I respect that."

Van Dijk will lead the Netherlands in their World Cup Round of 16 match against Morocco. Van der Vaart added that he is sometimes misunderstood: "As a person, I largely speak from the heart and based on my feelings. You know, questions are asked of me, and I don't overthink them. I engage with the person asking; I'm not deaf. I understand the question and say what I see, not what I'm supposed to say. That's how I was as a player, and that's how I am now. I don't speak to make headlines; actually, I dislike it. But I watch matches, and sometimes you like a player, sometimes you don't. It's not about disliking them as a person, but disliking their performance on the pitch."

"I'm positive about many players, but if I see something I don't like or they play poorly, I have to be allowed to say it. I have to say what I see. Sometimes media colleagues hesitate to criticize too much because they'll see the players again the next day, but that's how it is. I also see players the next day telling me they played poorly, but everything is normal when we meet, and they themselves know they played poorly. That's how it was when I played." He added: "When legends like Cruyff criticized me when I played poorly, I would still chat with them normally the next time I saw them. It's part of the job, and one of my responsibilities is to give my opinion on the game—that's all."

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