No-one writes the rules. You can assess players however you want. I'm just explaining that this has nothing to do with United vs. Liverpool, nor being delusional, nor an ability to recognise the quality of van Dijk's performances now.
And yes, Pallister and Bruce are not in the same bracket as
"Cannavaro, Ramos, Maldini, Ferdinand, Vidic etc." as per the criteria that
@TheReligion used when the conversation went on that tangent. I'm sure
@TheReligion would say van Dijk was at least the same level as Bruce when he won the first league title, if that's the definition you want to use. It just wasn't the one he was using.