Virgil van Dijk has lost a big chunk of his earnings since signing his new Liverpool contract
Virgil van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk is one of the UK's highest tax payers(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
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Virgil van Dijk has seen a substantial portion of his wages disappear to the taxman since putting pen to paper on his new Liverpool contract. The club skipper brought an end to months of uncertainty last April by committing to a new two-year deal with the Reds.
The extension mirrors his previous terms, meaning he continues to pocket around £350,000 per week, totalling around £40million. However, Van Dijk doesn't get to keep the lion's share of his salary, having handed over £9.7m in tax during the past 12 months, according to the Sunday Times Tax List.
This places him among the UK's biggest taxpayers overall, not just within football. The footballers' rankings are led by Manchester City's Erling Haaland, who has stumped up an eye-watering £17m in tax over the past year.
Second is Van Dijk's Anfield colleague, Mohamed Salah, on £14.5m. Manchester United's Brazilian midfielder Casemiro (£10.9m) sits third on the UK footballers' table ahead of his Old Trafford exit this summer.
Raheem Sterling, who recently terminated his Chelsea contract by mutual consent, contributed £9.8m in tax, £100,000 more than Van Dijk. Portuguese pair Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, of Manchester United and Manchester City, are tied on £9m.
Both Haaland and Salah were named in the top 100 taxpayers in the Sunday Times rankings, with Haaland 72nd and Salah 81st.
Meanwhile, with an eye on the future, Liverpool are preparing for life after Van Dijk by signing 20-year-old defender Jeremy Jacquet. The French under-21s star, who was also linked with Chelsea, will join Anfield in the summer after the Reds secured a deal worth an initial £55million, plus up to £5m in add-ons, to sign him from Rennes, where he will see out the season.
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah is one of the UK's biggest taxpayers(Image: Getty Images)
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As Van Dijk approaches his 35th birthday in the summer, the club is laying the groundwork for a revamped defence. Head coach Arne Slot said: "It's another example of the model we're using at this club – young, very talented players sometimes at the start of their careers or sometimes already a little bit into their careers.
"But always players that are young and can improve us in the short term, but also definitely in the long term.
"We've signed a lot of them recently and, like I've said many times, the mid to long-term future of this club, and even the short-term future, is in a very, very good place."
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