There is no more important player for Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool side than Roberto Firmino. Virgil van Dijk may have brought solidity to the defence, and Mohamed Salah may score the goals and get the plaudits, but the engine that drives this team is Firmino.
Which makes news the striker has put pen to paper today on a shiny new five-year deal a major win for the club—not to mention a nice little lift ahead of Wednesday’s second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Roma.
With two years to go on his previous deal and a £83M release clause, the club had been hard at work on a new contract for the 26-year-old Brazil international over the past two months. The new deal helps to address those concerns.
It also gives Firmino, who has 27 goals and 16 assists so far this season, a well-earned pay bump to £180k per week, more in line with his production and what players of similar importance at the Premier League’s other big clubs could expect to earn.
“It was an easy decision,” Firmino told the club’s website following the announcement of his new deal. “The club have taken me in in an incredible way and I’ve grown a lot here with my work with the support of the whole team. I am very, very happy here.
“Everything fits in the best possible way. My teammates are fantastic and I am very grateful to be able to play with them at this club. I love to play for Liverpool FC. The fans support us throughout the games and the work they do during the match is beautiful.”
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— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 29, 2018
Roberto Firmino agrees terms on new long-term #LFC deal: https://t.co/rvxJ30Ochp pic.twitter.com/sUsuABAkrx