Van Dijk joins Salah in signing two-year contract extension at Liverpool

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Virgil van Dijk has joined Mohamed Salah in signing a new contract with Liverpool.

Van Dijk's deal was to expire at the end of the season but the Netherlands center back has penned a new, two-year contract.

“I’m very happy, very proud,” Van Dijk told Liverpool’s official website on Thursday. “There are so many emotions, obviously, that go through my head right now speaking about it.

“It’s a proud feeling, it’s a feeling of joy. It’s just incredible. The journey I’ve had so far in my career, to be able to extend it with another two years at this club is amazing and I’m so happy.”

A two-year extension for Salah, Liverpool's star forward, was announced last week.

The 33-year-old Van Dijk has proven to be as important a figure for Liverpool as Salah since joining from Southampton at the start of 2018 for $100 million, a world-record fee for a defender.

“It was always Liverpool. That was the case. It was always in my head, it was always the plan and it was always Liverpool," Van Dijk added. "There wasn’t any doubt in my head that this is the place to be for me and my family.”

That does not appear to be the case for Trent Alexander-Arnold, the third player whose deal expires in the summer. Real Madrid is seemingly increasingly confident of concluding its long pursuit through a free transfer signing at the end of the season.

In his 7 1/2 years at Anfield, Van Dijk has won a Premier League title — it's about to become two with Liverpool close to clinching a record-tying 20th English top-flight championship — as well as the Champions League, the FA Cup, two English League Cups and the Club World Cup.

“It always felt right," he said. "I said it from the first day on that it felt right and I think it showed in the years we have spent together up until now. And obviously more years to come.

“It is the place for me to be, to spend my best years, be successful with the club as we have been over the years and hopefully the future as well."

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Liverpool's manager Arne Slot celebrates with Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jury selection began Tuesday in the Las Vegas trial of Nathan Chasing Horse, the former “Dances with Wolves” actor accused of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls.

Prosecutors allege he used his reputation as a spiritual leader and healer to take advantage of his victims over two decades. Chasing Horse, who was present in the courtroom Tuesday, has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges, including sexual assault, sexual assault with a minor, first degree kidnapping of a minor and the use of a minor in producing pornography.

The case sent shock waves across Indian Country when he was arrested and indicted in early 2023. After several delays, the case finally proceeded to trial after prosecutors added allegations that Chasing Horse filmed himself sexually abusing a girl younger than 14.

Best known for portraying the character Smiles A Lot in the 1990 movie “Dances with Wolves,” Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, which is home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation.

After starring in the Oscar-winning film, according to prosecutors, Chasing Horse proclaimed himself to be a Lakota medicine man while traveling around North America to perform healing ceremonies.

Prosecutors say he led a cult called The Circle, and his followers believed he could speak with spirits. His victims went to him for medical help, according to a court transcript from a grand jury hearing.

One victim was 14 years old when she approached him, hoping he would heal her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. Chasing Horse previously had treated the victim’s breathing issues and her mother’s spider bite, according to a court transcript. He allegedly told her the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity in exchange for her mother’s health. He allegedly sexually abused her and said her mother would die if she told anyone, according to the victim’s testimony to the grand jury.

The original indictment was dismissed in 2024 after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled prosecutors abused the grand jury process when they provided a definition of grooming as evidence without any expert testimony.

The high court, specifying that the dismissal had nothing to do with Chasing Horse's innocence or guilt, left open the possibility of charges being refiled. In October 2024, the charges were refiled with the new allegations that he recorded himself sexually abusing one of his accusers.

Prosecutors have said the recordings, made in 2010 or 2011, were found on cellphones in a locked safe inside the North Las Vegas home that Chasing Horse is said to have shared with five wives, including the girl in the videos.

Jury selection is expected to take multiple days. Judge Jessica Peterson asked potential jurors if they could be fair and impartial having heard the charges. Several spoke up about past experiences of sexual assault and said they'd be biased.

The trial could last four weeks, and prosecutors plan to call 18 witnesses. A week before the trial, Chasing Horse attempted to fire his private defense attorney, saying his lawyer hadn't come to visit him. Peterson removed Chasing Horse from the courtroom when he tried to interrupt her, and she denied his request.

The case is a reminder that violence also occurs within Native communities and is not just something committed by outsiders, said Crystal Lee, CEO and founder of the organization United Natives, which offers services to victims of sexual abuse.

Chasing Horse’s trial requires hard conversations about Native perpetrators, she said.

“How do we hold them accountable?” she said. “How do we start these tough conversations?”

Judge Jessica Peterson presides of the trial of Nathan Chasing Horse on charges of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Nathan Chasing Horse, right, sitting next to attorney Craig Mueller, holds a shoe as he appears for his trial on charges of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Nathan Chasing Horse appears for his trial on charges of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Nathan Chasing Horse appears before judge Jessica Peterson for his trial on charges of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Nathan Chasing Horse, right, talks to his attorney Craig Mueller during his trial on charges of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)