‘Might be time, might be money’ - why Roberto Firmino is still to sign new Liverpool contract

Jurgen Klopp is not panicking that Roberto Firmino is still to extend his Liverpool contract.

The striker has been at Anfield since the summer of 2015 and no player has made more appearance than him during Klopp's tenure. Together, they have helped the Reds claim the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

Firmino was one of the few players who hit form during the first half of this season. He scored nine goals in 22 appearances but has not played since the campaign restarted after the World Cup because of a calf injury.

Firmino's deal expires in June and turned 31 in October, although Klopp wants to keep the Brazil international at Liverpool.

But Firmino is to have attracted interest from Saudi Arabia, who would be able to offer him a much more lucrative deal than the Reds.

Klopp admitted he's not fully sure of Firmino's plans but is not worried at this stage.

What’s been said

The Liverpool boss said: “Normal things (why Firmino hasn’t signed a contract). What could be the reason from your point of view?

“When you think a little bit about it, where could it hang? It might be the time, it might be the money, these kind of things. It's completely normal. Bobby knows about the situation here and what we think of him, that's clear. There's no problem, that's just the situation. I don't see any kind of problems.

“He was and is [so important]. In the first part of the season when we were not absolutely flying, Bobby was maybe the only one who played a kind of normal season in a lot of games. Really important link-up play, the way you want to play. Maybe not to all clubs in the world but most because in tight areas, having a technical player with his football intelligence who can develop the game from there, score on top of that and is unselfish to an extent 'how is that possible?'

“Great player and I don't know 1000% what his plans are. Maybe somebody else will offer him something else, I don't know, it can all happen. You ask me if I want him to say, yes. Everything is like it should be at this moment in time, it's pretty early, the transfer window is not even closed and we will see.”