Virgil van Dijk has been advised that he could earn “a lot of money” by pursuing the American dream in Major League Soccer (MLS) if Liverpool fail to offer him a new contract.
The Netherlands international is among several high-profile players, including Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose current deals at Anfield are running down.
With no extension agreed as of yet, the 33-year-old defender could become a free agent in the summer of 2025.
His former Netherlands teammate Jaap Stam, who made his name in the Premier League with Manchester United, believes Van Dijk might consider a fresh challenge.
Speaking to Sports Lens, Stam said: “If Virgil van Dijk leaves Liverpool then I could see him playing for a few years in the United States to see out his career, earning a lot of money.
“But I still see him as being a really important player at Liverpool and I can’t see why Liverpool wouldn’t try their best to keep him at the club because of that importance.
“I think he deserves a new contract and a new deal, maybe only for one season, and then you see where you go from there.
“You have to look at who would replace him in the transfer market or the academy but that’s extremely hard to do.
“It’s going to be very difficult to replace a player like Virgil and he deserves another one or two years, he’s shown he is still the best option for the club.”
Stam added: “I could see Virgil van Dijk saying in Europe, but he is playing in a Liverpool team that he knows very well and they have a real balance.
“If he goes and joins another club he will have new team-mates and his whole situation will change.
“You can say that the players at Bayern Munich or PSG aren’t up to the level of his team-mates at Liverpool.
“The style of play will change and it could be a bad thing for his career to leave.
“Look at how it was for Lionel Messi when he first joined PSG from Barcelona.
“It’s going to be a very important decision for him and the club and I think that Real Madrid might be the only good option for him in Europe at the moment.”
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