Roberto Firmino’s New Liverpool Contract “Really Cool”

Roberto Firmino has scored 27 goals and 16 assists in 50 games this season. Roberto Firmino has created more than 50 scoring chances and has more than 60 tackles in the league—more than any player at a top six club in the bar Chelsea’s César Azpilicueta.

Roberto Firmino is arguably Liverpool’s most important, most irreplaceable, player. And now he’s signed a new long-term deal, in the process removing a £83M release clause some feared would result in him being poached by Real Madrid in the summer.

“It’s unbelievably important news for us,” was manager Jürgen Klopp’s response to Firmino’s new deal. “Really cool. I heard what he said about it being an easy decision for him and I can really imagine that it was. He knows and appreciates absolutely this club.

“This is one very important step for us. Absolutely. But even Roberto cannot play alone. We need to carry on in this way. In the moment every player knows about our plans. He’s the first but for sure he won’t be the last.”

That, too, is good news—that Firmino won’t be the last Liverpool star getting a new deal in the coming weeks and months—and already there are whispers that the club is working on getting Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah on new, improved contracts.

As important as major new signings are, keeping the core squad together and happy will be key to any longer-term success, and getting Firmino on a new £180k per week deal—similar to the wage Virgil van Dijk received when he signed—will do that.

Mané and Salah, both on about half that, will expect to earn similar wages in their new deals, a significant investment by the club and one that shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to FSG’s willingness to spend to achieve success.

For now, though, the focus is on Firmino, a player who with every passing week now seems to get more respect—both from Liverpool fans and in the wider football world. Like his new, improved deal, it’s nothing less than he deserves.

“The other boys really respect him for all the work he’s doing,” Klopp added. “This constant discussion about whether he’s undervalued or whatever in public, this never happened for one second either in the club or in the team.

“He feels completely comfortable and is planning for the long-term here. That’s becoming rare because if you are not Barcelona or not Real Madrid then there’s usually another club somewhere you can go to [so] it’s really good news for us.”