Brazilian great Ronaldinho has let know Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk how much he admires him.

The defender, 30, helped the Reds defeat Crystal Palace 3-1 on Sunday to keep the Premier League title race interesting after Manchester City dropped points at Southampton.

Replying to the Dutchman's Instagram post celebrating Liverpool's victory, Brazilian Ronaldinho wrote: "You are fantastic, [you] play with elegance and command the defence like a maestro ... congratulations!"

Van Dijk has previously picked out the World Cup winner as the best player of all time.

He told talkSPORT: "Ronaldinho. He was one of my idols."