Q&AInterview: Why Cody Gakpo did not hesitate to sign a new contract with Liverpool

It was announced today the Netherlands forward has penned fresh terms with the club he joined from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023.

Since arriving at Anfield, Gakpo has scored 42 goals in 131 appearances and won the Carabao Cup and, of course, the Premier League title.

The 26-year-old has fallen in love with both club and city and feels perfectly at home on and off the pitch.

Shortly after he committed his future to the Reds, Gakpo sat down for an interview with Liverpoolfc.com at the AXA Training Centre. Watch or read our chat in full below...

Cody, first of all, congratulations. How does it feel to have signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool?

Thank you very much. It feels amazing to extend the contract here at this beautiful club. I’m very grateful and hopefully I can give back many more beautiful moments.

It sounds like extending was a pretty easy decision to make when you found out it was a possibility...

Yeah, easy, to be fair. I think I feel at home, my family feels at home and that’s also a big decision always. They feel good. I’m very happy at the club, a good group, good teammates, so the life around the football itself is very good and I enjoy every moment of it. I’m very grateful that I can extend.

You’ve been here for just over two-and-a-half years now. How have you developed as a player since you joined Liverpool?

I think I developed a lot. Obviously [I] played different positions as well, which eventually helped me to grow as a player, in my opinion. I think last season I had a very good season, we all as a team had a very good season, which also gives then a boost to stay hungry for more and to keep developing and try to win as much as possible in the years to come.

You’ve worked under two great managers here in Jürgen Klopp and now Arne Slot. Can you put into words just how much influence they’ve had on your career?

Obviously Jürgen gave me the chance to come here in the first place – together with the club – and gave me a lot of chances to play in a team which was a great team at the time. I think we maybe didn’t have the best start when I came, I think we were struggling a little bit as a team. But I think from the moment, because I came in the winter, the next season started, I think we showed we were a very good team that [made] great signings and kept on building. And then obviously he left, which was a shame for, I think, almost everybody in the club, in the city. Then obviously the manager from now came in and did a great job last season with the team we had. I think they both had a lot of influence on me, [have] given me a lot of game time and I try to pay it back all the time when I’m on the pitch.

You’ll obviously have known that you were joining one of the biggest clubs in the world when you signed from PSV Eindhoven. But has it taken you by surprise a little bit just how big the club is here and all around the world?

Obviously you hear about how big Liverpool is, but you don’t really know it until you’re here. Like I said, I’m very grateful that I have the opportunity to be here. Now we start to see how big the club is even when we do Asian tours, American tours – it’s like we have all over the world a lot of fans, which shows how great this club is. We have to fight for the club to bring more victories.

A lot has changed in your life since you joined Liverpool. You were 23 years old then and you’re now 26 and a father, too. So, Liverpool has been and will always be a very important place in your life...

Yes, of course. I think this was also the moment maybe when I changed from maybe a boy to a man. And then [I] became a father and got a lot of responsibilities in life – not only for myself and my family and my girlfriend but also for my son. So, that changed also a lot. The whole environment here also helped me a lot with that change, so I appreciate everybody.

You mentioned before that it feels like home. So, you’ve grown to love both the club and the city, and it is almost like a second home for you now?

I truly do. Often when we have [days] off I just stay here because I like it so much. But I think from the moment I came I got a warm welcome from everybody in the club and outside. That also made me feel at home very quick. For me, it’s always a big thing and it’s very important to feel at home.

On the pitch, you’ve achieved a lot already as a Liverpool player and nothing more so than becoming a Premier League champion. What’s next? What do you want to achieve over the course of this new contract?

Obviously trying to win more things with the club, with the team. I think we have a very good squad at the moment and we’re trying to build on something special again. Obviously last season we won the league, so we have to defend it with the best of our capabilities. We want to also win the Champions League and the other cups, so that’s what we are going for. For me personally, I think I’d like to keep on developing, so every year has to be a better year than the year before. That’s what we’re aiming for.

You’re now an established starter for both club and country. Do you hope and feel that there’s still more to come from you, that we still haven’t seen the very best of Cody Gakpo just yet?

Yeah, like I said, I like to develop a lot so hopefully I can get every year a little bit better and give a lot back to the fans.

You’ve got so much experience as a player already. Do you feel like you are growing into a position of seniority in the squad now, and helping the younger players here to develop?

I think when we do ‘old v young’ [in training] I am with the old [team] now, so I think I am on the senior side at the moment! Yeah, we have also a young squad so I think naturally I will grow into such a role.

You were captain of PSV at such a young age. Is that leadership role and responsibility something you enjoy?

Yes, at that moment I enjoyed it a lot – it was for me a big honour to be captain of my childhood club. Like over there I grew into that role as well and I hope the players would say I did a good job! But I like to help other people and I like to do that here as well.

Finally, I’m sure all the supporters watching or reading this interview will be delighted with the news that you’re going to be a Liverpool player for many years to come. Do you have a message for them at all?

I am thankful for every one of you, obviously, who has supported me and the team over the last years that I was here, and hopefully we can give a lot more back than we did in the years that have passed. So, hopefully many more trophies and many more beautiful moments, and thank you again.