Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk will earn around £ 400,000 a week after signing a new two-year-old deal with the club.
After a long saga about whether the middle behind his stay in Anfield would extend until this summer, Van Dijk, 33, finally put pen on paper on a contract that holds him on Merseyside until June 2027.
The Dutch defender will be 36 only a few days after his new contract ends, but that did not prevent Liverpool from splashing the money to keep him in their books.
Mail Sport understands that he has not done wage reduction and will be paid, just shy of the £ 400,000 a week that is progressing.
This is a similar figure such as Liverpool's Talisman Mohamed Salah, who signed a £ 380,000 a week last week.
Van Dijk's contract makes him the best-paid defender in Europe, while it does not contain a release clause.
The handing over of a player just over two months away from their 34th birthday, such a lucrative deal could be seen by some fans as a gamble.
Van Dijk, however, played a crucial role in the success of Liverpool in the last seven years since he became a member of Southampton for £ 75 million.
He is about to have the team of their second Premier League title, while Van Dijk also won two competition cups, the Champions League and FA Cup with the Reds.
On Thursday morning, Liverpool announced his contract extension with a tweet with the text: 'The Skipper Stays', in addition to an image of Van Dijk with the caption: “It was always Liverpool.”
Van Dijk also stated that, even though the contract Saga dragged away in a few months, he was always convinced that he would remain a Liverpool player.
“I am very happy, very proud,” Van Dijk said the official website of the club. 'There are clearly so many emotions that now go through my mind, talk about it now.
“It's a proud feeling, it's a feeling of joy. It's just incredible. The journey that I have had so far in my career, to be able to extend it in this club for another two years, is great and I am so happy. '
He added: 'It was always Liverpool. That was the case. It was always in my head, it was always the plan and it was always Liverpool.
“There was no doubt in my head that this is the place to be for me and my family. I am one of Liverpool. Someone recently called me an adopted scouser – I am really proud to hear these things, it gives me a great feeling. '