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Steven Gerrard has today committed his long-term future to Liverpool by signing an extension to his contract with the Reds.

The news completes a great 24 hours for the Anfield skipper, who signed his new deal at Melwood this afternoon after firing the winner in the first-leg of the Carling Cup semi-final at Manchester City last night.

"I'm very happy," said Gerrard today. "It's a very proud day for myself and my family.

"It comes on the back of a fantastic team performance last night when we got the result we were looking for. Hopefully we can finish the job off in two weeks time and take all of our magnificent fans down to Wembley for a day out.

"The contract extension coming the day after has been the icing on the cake so it has been a perfect 24 hours.

"This is the club I love and is the club I have supported since I was a young boy. I am living the dream as the captain of one of the biggest clubs in the world. I love coming to work every day and the experiences I have had since I was eight years of age and first signed for the club, I wouldn't change them for the world. To extend that and to hopefully have some more good times in a red shirt is what I want.

"There will be more highs and lows, there's no doubt about it as that's part and parcel of being a football player at a top club. The important thing is that you react well to the lows and experience more of the highs. I'm confident moving forward that the club is going in the right direction. We've got a fantastic team, we've got the right owners in place and the right team behind our team, so I'm really confident we'll have more good experiences in the future."

Gerrard has also agreed to take up an ambassadorial role at Liverpool Football Club once his illustrious playing career draws to a close.

"It's really flattering for me that the club have offered me the chance to stay when I eventually hang my boots up," he added. "Hopefully that will be in many years to come because I want to play for as long as I can.

"I'll know myself when it's time to hang my boots up and then hopefully I can stay involved with the club and set the right example for youngsters coming through."


Kenny Dalglish today spoke of his delight after Steven Gerrard put pen to paper on an extension to his Liverpool contract.


Speaking the day after watching his captain drive the Reds to within 90 minutes of the Carling Cup final with the winning goal at Manchester City, Dalglish admits today's news of a new deal is another massive boost for everybody connected with the club.

"It's fantastic for everybody," said the manager. "Over the past couple of years he's had a couple of disappointing spells where he's picked up injuries through no fault of anybody. He picked up a couple of infections which were completely unrelated. He's come back fantastically well and is starting to get himself back to full fitness.

"For us, for Steven and for everybody connected with football club it's fantastic news. We're delighted for him and are looking forward to him getting back to full fitness and working hard for us and with us."

As well as his leadership qualities on the pitch, Dalglish is also grateful for the role his captain plays behind the scenes.

"He does everything. People only see what he does on the pitch," he added. "It's the same for Carra as well who is also influential among the young players. They are two great examples for them to sit and look up to.

"Steven, being the club captain, is very impressive - if there's a problem to be sorted in the dressing room, which isn't very often, he'll deal with it and it doesn't come any further than the dressing room which is fantastic for us. It doesn't happen too often but if it happens he steps in. So he stands up to be counted on and off the pitch. He's been a fantastic servant to the football club so let's hope he gets past his present contract as well.

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"He's been here since he was a very young boy. In this day and age there's not many people who go through their football career and represent just one club, especially people with quality like Steven. It's not as if he's been at a football club that's been without success either. If you're happy where you're playing, you're enjoying what you're doing and you enjoy the football club I don't see any reason to move, and it's fantastic for us that he hasn't."

And with a difficult 2011 behind him, Kenny is hoping Gerrard's early 2012 form can be repeated during the months to come.

"He's scored in two of the three games this year. If he keeps that up he'll win the Golden Boot!"


On the day skipper Steven Gerrard signed a new Liverpool contract, we caught up with Director of Football Damien Comolli for his reaction.


First of all Damien, this is a big day for Liverpool FC....

Yes, it always is when you secure the services of one of your best players for the long-term. It's a great day for the club, for the fans, for the manager and for everybody because, as I have said in the past, it's a sign we want to keep our best players here. Because he is the captain and because of everything he has done so far, it's an even better feeling.

From your point of view, what are the qualities which make Steven Gerrard such a special footballer?

I think I won't be very creative and probably say what people have said before. I'd rather speak about the individual and the person behind the player. The way he puts the team first and the club first over his interests is absolutely tremendous. He's a fantasy professional and it's just great to have someone like this at the club. He's a leader, he's charismatic, he's a top player and he's a team player. There's not much more you can ask for from an individual.

You have lots of friends and contacts from all over the world. Tell us what the view is of Steven Gerrard from overseas.

Everybody says he's the best player this country has had for the last twenty years. I think that's quite unanimous. I've seen something in the press recently in France where they voted for the top five English players over the last twenty years and they came out with Stevie on top. When you talk to players, whether they are in the Premier League, in other divisions in England or outside of the country, very often they say 'will Steven Gerrard be here?' and 'what's his contract situation because he's so good I want to play next to him?' And I can understand that.

Yourself, Kenny and the staff have guided Steven back to full fitness after his injury problems - you must be delighted with his form at the moment...

Absolutely. Kenny has said it previously but I think our medical staff have done a fantastic job with both injuries. He's been out for a long time and it was incredibly frustrating for him and disappointing for us because we were trying to give him as much support as we could. It was disappointing because he was out and was desperate to come back and play. We just told him to be patient and not to rush and I think he's scored three in the last four now. As soon as he comes on you can see his quality and what he brings to the team.

You mentioned Steven Gerrard the person - how big an influence is he for you off the field?

The help is tremendous. Whenever we want to sign a young player, no matter what their age is, if I ask Stevie to come to the academy to speak to a player, or have a word with someone at Melwood, he is always there to help and try and convince the boy to come to us, to tell the boy about his experiences of being at Liverpool, of coming through the academy and playing for the first team and for this fantastic fan base. It's not only the help he gives on a daily basis to the ones who are here, it's also the help he gives to help us bring talent to the club. Carra is the same, as to be fair are all the others in the first team. Because it's him, and because of what he's done for the club and what he represents in England, when he talks to a young player it makes a difference.

Then you have on the pitch as well. We were talking to Jordan Henderson last summer and he was talking about training for a couple of days with Stevie for England. He said that as soon as he trained the level went up fantastically. It's about technical leadership as well, not only mental.

Hopefully this will be many years in the future, but once his playing days are over Steven will take on an ambassadorial role for the club. What are your views on this news?

The view myself and Ian Ayre took is we want to keep people like Stevie for the reasons I have talked about. As an ambassador he's going to be around and can give advice to young players, he can give advice to players he would have played with. It's just great to know he'll be around for a long time.