Philippe Coutinho has become the highest-paid player in Liverpool’s history after agreeing a new five-year contract with the club.
The Brazil international today penned an improved deal understood to be worth over £200,000 per week to keep him at Anfield until the summer of 2022.
Coutinho joined the Reds from Inter Milan four years ago for £8.5 million and rapidly established himself as an influential first-team figure shortly after.
That sharp rise has not gone unnoticed by Europe’s elite, with Barcelona continually linked and Paris Saint-Germain attempting to test Liverpool’s resolve.
But the 24-year-old insists he is happy to commit his long-term future to Merseyside after being welcomed with ‘open arms’ upon his 2013 arrival.
He said: “I am very happy to sign a new contract here.
“It is a club that I am very grateful to and this shows my happiness here. I will work much harder to repay the belief shown in me.
“I signed this new contract to stay here for a few more years because it’s a great honour for me.
“It gives me great happiness because I was welcomed here with open arms by everyone at the club and the supporters right from my first day.
“I am very thankful to this football club for everything.
“It’s not just me — since me and my family arrived here we have been welcomed with open arms by everyone.
“We feel at home in this city, we feel a part of this city. It is a very important day for me, my wife and my daughter. I am happy — and everyone is happy at home!”