Gerrard in £24m bonanza

13 April 2012

Steven Gerrard has given Liverpool a major boost ahead of their Champions League Final with AC Milan by finally agreeing a £24million contract.

The Liverpool skipper will sign a £6m-a-year deal in the next few days that will catapult him into the bracket of top wage earners in the country alongside Chelsea's Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko.

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It means he can now prepare for Wednesday's Final in the knowledge that his Anfield future has been secured after striking a deal that will keep him at his home-town club for the next four seasons.

With Jamie Carragher also reaching agreement on a new contract, manager Rafael Benitez can turn his attention to a list of high-profile transfer targets once Liverpool return from Athens.

Benitez sat down with American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett just over a month ago and they gave him assurances he would have at least £40m to recruit the world's best players.

The signings of Gerrard, 27 next week, and Carragher, 29, on lucrative deals is a statement of intent which will alert potential targets such as Daniel Alves, Samuel Eto'o, Darren Bent, Fernando Torres and David Villa that Liverpool are prepared to match the kind of wages normally associated with Chelsea and Manchester United.

If Liverpool were to land another European crown on Wednesday, it would give Benitez even more bargaining power as he strives to restore the club to their former glories, with a first League title since 1990 the main objective.

Carragher said: "My ambition is to wear the red shirt for as long as I can and I'd be absolutely gutted if I ever had to leave."

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