STEVEN GERRARD will give Liverpool the perfect Euro boost — by pledging the rest of his career to the club. The Kop skipper, 26, has agreed terms on a new £120,000- a-week contract to keep him at Anfield for life. That will see him pocket £6million a year and make him the best-paid English player in the Premiership.Reds boss Rafa Benitez hopes to officially announce the news on the eve of the Champions League final against AC Milan in three weeks. Liverpool revealed recently that the future of midfield man Gerro, together with stars like Jamie Carragher and Xabi Alonso, would be top of the agenda for new owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.
Now the two men have proved as good as their word, with the offer that will make Gerrard the highest-paid player in Liverpool history. GerrardÂ’s future has been the subject of speculation in recent years. During the summer of 2004 he was tipped to join Chelsea but, despite going close to moving to Stamford Bridge, he eventually opted to stay put.
A year later, after Gerrard led the Reds to Champions League glory in Istanbul, Chelsea were again close to a £32m swoop — before a late change of heart saw him commit to staying at Anfield, with a new four-year deal. The England ace offered to give up the captaincy after the controversy but boss Benitez insisted he kept the job.
Last year he insisted he planned to stay at Liverpool until he was no longer wanted. He was already contracted until 2009 but the clubÂ’s American owners were determined to keep him at the club for the rest of his career and opened talks over an extended deal.
Negotiations were swiftly agreed and the announcement of a four-year extension will send them into battle in Athens in the highest-possible spirits. It means Gerrard will equal the pay of Chelsea stars Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack and put the £110,000-a-week five-year deal signed by Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United firmly in the shade.
