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Photo by Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
The Liverpool captain opened up about his love for the club and said extending his contract was always the priority.
The news is official and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk will remain an integral part of the club’s plans for at least the next two seasons, with the standout centre half putting pen to paper on a two-year extension believed to keep the terms of his previous deal.
Most expected that, as with Mohamed Salah’s recently announced two-year extension, a new deal for Van Dijk was only ever a matter of when and not if, but with the weeks and months passing and the season in its final stages the timing was starting to get tight.
For the player, though, there was never any doubt that extending was the preference, even if there was interest from other clubs in signing him, and his extension sends a strong signal that he believes this season’s Premier League title isn’t an end point for this group.
“It always felt right,” the 33-year-old Dutch defender noted of his decision. “I said it from the first day it felt right and I think it showed in the years we have spent together. It is the place for me to be, to be successful as we have been, and hopefully the future as well.
“It is an emotional day, not only for myself but for my family as well. My kids are also almost Scousers, they don’t know anything else. I really love how the club is in general, what it stands for, and these principles are really important to me and my family as well.
“When you go through these successes and you see what it brings, what it means to the people of Liverpool and everyone connected to Liverpool around the world, you want to achieve it again and again and again. That’s the motivation, to win every game.”
Van Dijk recently suggested he expects some big moves in the summer to ensure the Reds stay in the mix in the Premier League and Champions League in the coming seasons, and there have been suggestions that played a part in both Salah and him extending.
For the moment, though, the focus remains on the final weeks of the current season, with six more league games to play and Liverpool looking to mathematically secure their 20th domestic league title—possibly as soon as this weekend against Leicester City.
“I want to try to do everything in my power to win every game ahead of us,” Van Dijk added of his goals for the future, both in the short- and long-term. “That’s the goal as well for the next two years, to compete until the very last moment and hopefully be successful.”
