Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk.

The Reds won their first league title in 30 years, lifting the Premier League after a remarkable season.

They finished 99 points and won the league at a canter, and Ferdinand believes Van Dijk is a key reason for the team's success.

Liverpool kept 15 clean sheets in the league this season.

Speaking on the Beautiful Game Podcast, Ferdinand said: "I love him. I think he's the best in the world right now.

"He's undoubtedly a top player but I think he's not fighting against the depth of other central defenders that was in my era.

"If we were talking about top drawer centre-halves, I could name five, six, seven, eight, nine in my era, whereas I don't think I could fill my whole hand in this era.

"And that's no disrespect [to the current defenders] but we're talking about top players here.

"Though I think in any era, he looks like a top player."