Former Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk has insisted that Liverpool cannot afford to show any fear against Real Madrid in this weekend's Champions League final in Ukraine.

The Dutch stopper became the most expensive defender in January when he moved from Southampton to Anfield in a £75m move.

The 26-year-old has made a seamless transition into Jurgen Klopp's side but he is eager to make what would be a huge mark at the club with success over the Spanish giants on Saturday.

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“They’ve won three of the last four,” said Van Dijk. “They have experience, they have so much quality.

“We need to look at them, but the main thing is to look at ourselves. I’ve said it before, we’re not here for no reason – we deserve to be here.

“We need to show that as well on the pitch: be brave, do our thing, do what we normally do. It’s a one-off game, but we need to just be confident and show what we’re good at.

“Only the Roma away game we’ve lost in the Champions League, so that says a lot. The way we play, if everyone is 100 per cent and the tactics are spot-on, then we can make it difficult for any team.

“They are experienced in these kind of games, they have played these type of games in the last few years. For us, it’s a little bit new, but that doesn’t matter really. We just need to play our game and be ready for anything that’s possible. I think we will be.

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“It’s a game that not a lot of players play in during their careers. To be playing in the Champions League final with Liverpool is something special and I can’t wait for it.”

Klopp took the Liverpool squad to Marbella last week to prepare for what will be a momentous evening but Van Dijk is calm ahead of the biggest game of his career.

“I’m very excited, obviously,” said Van Dijk. “It’s a fantastic game and it almost doesn’t get any bigger than this game. We’re looking forward to it, we need to enjoy it and we need to be ready.

"I am not really that kind of guy who looks too far ahead in these kind of situations,

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“We need to prepare. We need to enjoy the moment and enjoy the game with our fans, with the quality we have in the team. We are going to give 100 per cent – even more – and hopefully we’re going to enjoy it after the game, but right now we don’t look too far ahead.

“It’s a one-off game and I’m not sure what’s going on in other players’ minds, but for me personally I just want to enjoy it – but I want to win it. I don’t want to come with the feeling that we lost it.

“We’re going to prepare like every other game and we’ll give 100 per cent. That’s the main thing.

“We’ll play our game.”