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.
