Liverpool striker Cody Gakpo celebrates his goal against Tottenham on April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool’s men’s team entered the 2024-25 season with plenty of question marks. Legendary manager Jurgen Klopp was gone, replaced by Arne Slot. The team was coming off a third-place finish and signed just one player in the summer transfer window.
Three crucial players — Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk — were impending free agents. The English Premier League title race was framed as a battle between last season’s top two finishers: Arsenal and Manchester City.
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But Liverpool won their first three games by a combined score of 7-0 and never slowed down. They lost just once in their first 30 league games and built a double-digit lead at the top of the table. By early April, it was a question of when — not if — they would be crowned champions of England.
Needing just a draw at home against Tottenham on Sunday, Liverpool turned the match into a full-fledged celebration as they scored five unanswered goals to win 5-1 and secure the title with four games to spare. The title is Liverpool’s 20th, tying them with Manchester United for the most all time.
“It’s amazing,” striker Cody Gakpo said after the game. “We worked really hard this year. [We have had] special moments … to get this is amazing.”
The Dutch international, who turns 26 on May 7, contributed Liverpool’s third goal Sunday. To celebrate, he took off his jersey to reveal a shirt that read, “I belong to Jesus.”
It was a public declaration of the faith that has fueled Gakpo throughout his career and a continuation of the strong legacy of faith at the club through people like Klopp, former striker Roberto Firmino and current goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
Gakpo also took to social media to celebrate his first Premier League title and give glory to God.
“Childhood dream fulfilled — Premier League champions 24/25,” he wrote on Instagram. “So proud of everyone on the team and everything we’ve achieved. Reds, your love and support made it even more special — can’t thank y’all enough. God guided every step of this journey, and I’m beyond grateful. We did this together.”
In his second full season at the club, Gakpo’s 17 goals and 22 goal involvements across all competitions rank second on the team. He surpassed his Premier League goal total from last season on Sunday despite playing 22 fewer minutes.
Gakpo rose through the ranks at Dutch power PSV and attracted interest from two Premier League clubs — Leeds United and Southampton — in the Summer 2022 transfer window following a 12-goal, 12-assist season. He made his decision by surrendering it to the Lord. PSV played Volendam on the day the transfer window closed. Gakpo decided if he scored once, he would move to Southampton. If he scored twice, he would go to Leeds. He would stay at PSV if he got a hat trick.
Gakpo scored twice in the first half. He found the back of the net again early in the second half, but it took a heavy deflection, so it was unclear if he’d be given credit for the goal. When he was substituted, it appeared he was headed to Leeds. But that last goal was ultimately awarded to him, so he stayed at PSV.
He moved to Liverpool in the next transfer window after scoring in all three group-stage games at the 2022 World Cup, held in November and December.
“I could feel God’s presence as well because it was just in His hands, and it happened so quick,” he told ESPN in 2024 about leaving PSV. “I was so calm, and I was not really stressed about those things. So that was for me also a sign like it’s a God move.”
Whether it is leading Bible studies, incorporating it into celebrations, or posts on social media, Gakpo boldly lives out his faith and publicly discusses what it means to him.
“Faith gives me peace,” he told Premier Christianity in 2023. “And strength when I need it. I often read the Bible before I go to sleep. It is a kind of love letter that tells us how we should treat each other.”
Having been eliminated from the three cup competitions (Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Champions League) they were also competing in, Liverpool will take the field four more times before their season ends. Up next is a visit to Chelsea on Sunday. They will finish by hosting Crystal Palace on May 25.
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