Liverpool could pay £52m clause for future Portugal captain
Liverpool may pursue Sporting CP defender Goncalo Inacio as a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk, with the 24-year-old having a £52m release clause in his contract. The club is reportedly considering several central defensive options as van Dijk nears the end of his contract and career at Anfield. Inacio, seen as a future Portugal captain, is attracting interest from top European clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, and other Premier League sides.
- ▪Liverpool may target Goncalo Inacio as a successor to Virgil van Dijk, who has one year left on his contract.
- ▪Inacio has a €60m (£52m) release clause in his Sporting CP contract, which expires in 2030.
- ▪Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, and Manchester United are also interested in Inacio.
- ▪Inacio is considered a potential future captain for the Portugal national team, possibly succeeding Cristiano Ronaldo.
- ▪Liverpool's sporting director Richard Hughes and manager Arne Slot are believed to be planning for life after van Dijk.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/liverpool-could-pay-52m-clause-092000955.html","headline":"Liverpool could pay £52m clause for future Portugal captain","datePublished":"2026-05-01T09:20:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-01T09:20:00.000Z","keywords":["Liverpool","Virgil van Dijk","Portugal","Sporting CP","Gazzetta dello Sport","Portugal national team","release clause","Alessandro Bastoni","Nico Schlotterbeck","Richard Hughes","clause","Cristiano Ronaldo","Real Madrid","Manchester United","Chelsea","Barcelona"],"description":"Liverpool will need to sooner or later move on from Virgil van Dijk.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Yahoo Sports.