Dominik Szoboszlai Signs New Liverpool Deal Until 2031

Dominik Szoboszlai has nailed his colours to the Liverpool mast – and for a long time.

The Hungary captain has signed a new deal that keeps him at Anfield until 2031, a statement of intent from both player and club that also cools talk of a future move to Real Madrid. At 25, he is now locked in for what should be the peak years of his career on Merseyside.

From promise to pillar

Szoboszlai arrived from RB Leipzig in 2023 as a gifted, energetic midfielder. Three seasons on, he is something else entirely: a central pillar in Liverpool’s present and future.

Across 154 appearances, he has delivered 31 goals, many of them the kind that stay replayed in the mind – long-range drives, clean strikes, big moments. His versatility has been a manager’s dream, used across the midfield and further forward, always with the same relentless work rate.

That energy has carried over from club to country. Already captain of Hungary, Szoboszlai has grown into an on-field leader at Liverpool as well, setting standards in pressing, intensity and ambition. Teammates follow his cues; opponents feel his presence.

Echoes of Nedved, shadows of Gerrard

It is no small thing when a player is likened to a Ballon d’Or winner. Szoboszlai has drawn comparisons with Pavel Nedved – all drive, power and elegance, a midfielder who could shape games with both craft and sheer will.

Vladimir Smicer, the 2005 Champions League winner and fellow Czech, sees that same blend in Liverpool’s No.8. The comparison is not just about style. It is about influence. Nedved was a heartbeat player for club and country. Szoboszlai is being groomed for the same kind of responsibility at Anfield.

The other name that inevitably hovers over Liverpool’s No.8 shirt is Steven Gerrard. That is a heavier shadow still.

Smicer, speaking to GOAL in association with Grosvenor Sport, was careful with the parallel. Gerrard, he pointed out, was Liverpool through and through – born in the city, raised in the academy, woven into the fabric of the club and its supporters in a way few can ever replicate.

Szoboszlai, three years into his Liverpool journey, cannot mirror that bond. But he is tracing a path that Gerrard himself would respect. Smicer believes the former captain enjoys watching him carry the No.8, and would not object if, one day, Szoboszlai is spoken of as his true successor.

The next captain?

There is a practical edge to all this talk of leadership. Virgil van Dijk’s contract runs out next summer. If the Dutch defender moves on, someone will have to take the armband.

Smicer can see the answer already. Asked whether Szoboszlai could succeed Van Dijk as captain, he did not hesitate: “One day, yes. I can see it.”

The logic is clear. Szoboszlai already leads his national team. He is a mainstay in Liverpool’s midfield, trusted in big games, unafraid of responsibility. He plays with personality, speaks with authority and carries himself like a player who expects to decide matches, not just appear in them.

Gerrard’s unique connection with the Kop will never be replicated by an import, however talented. Popularity on that scale belongs to a different era, a different story. Yet greatness at Anfield is not reserved only for locals, and Szoboszlai is carving out his own route towards it.

Legacy on the line

Legacy at Liverpool is built on two things: leadership and silverware. The captaincy would cement the first. The second is already within reach.

Liverpool have started the 2026-27 season unbeaten, making steady strides in both domestic and European competition. The platform is there for another cycle of success, and Szoboszlai sits right at the centre of it.

If he does end up with the armband, the challenge will be simple and brutal in its clarity: win. Lift trophies. Turn spectacular goals and standout performances into defining nights, into medals, into banners on the Kop.

His contract says he will be here for the long haul. The coming seasons will decide whether he is remembered merely as a fine player in a good Liverpool side, or as the captain who carried a new era of Anfield glory.