At Liverpool, Dominik Szoboszlai will don the No. 8 jersey.
The 22-year-old will just be the second Liverpool player to wear that squad number since club great Steven Gerrard gave it up in 2015, following Naby Keita.
Szoboszlai was a fan of Gerrard when he was younger. He moved to Anfield on Sunday in a £60 million trade from RB Leipzig.
He was even the inspiration for the former Liverpool captain’s tattoo.
Szoboszlai was asked the following question in his first interview with Liverpool’s official website: “You’ve picked the shirt number eight, which is obviously a legendary number at Liverpool. What causes that, and why?”Not for any particular reason, but it’s a terrific number none the less—many great players have had this number, he retorted. In addition, Steven Gerrard said something that I can’t even recall when I got a tattoo of. It was also one of the causes.”
Regarding Gerrard, he stated: “When I was a child, to be honest I didn’t watch that much football but of course when it was Champions League or a big game, I was watching Liverpool, the big teams and also the big players – and he was one of the biggest.”
A phrase that was allegedly credited to Gerrard was translated from English into Hungarian and inscribed onto Szoboszlai’s torso in the aforementioned tattoo.
The quote from Gerrard that Szoboszlai chose for her tattoo, according to Index.hu, was, “Talent is a blessing from God, but without incredible will and humility, it is worthless.”
Explaining Gerrard’s tattoo and removing his Liverpool No. 8 shirt, Dominik Szoboszlai
Szoboszlai, the Reds’ second summer acquisition, completed his £60 million transfer to the club on Sunday afternoon.
Alexis Mac Allister, who came from Brighton in June and assumed the No. 10 previously worn by Sadio Mane, arrived before him.
The most recent addition now wears the No. 8 shirt that Gerrard most famously wore and was left vacant by Naby Keita this summer.
Most of the players that Liverpool has signed in recent years look up to Gerrard because of his heroics as the team’s captain, which included the match in Istanbul.
Similar sentiments apply to Szoboszlai, who even sports a famous midfielder’s phrase, “Talent is a divine blessing, but without incredible will and humility, it is worth nothing,” on his arm.
After joining Anfield, the 22-year-old gave an explanation of why he chose to wear the No. 8 shirt in an interview with LFCTV.He remarked, “Of course it’s a great number, but not [for] a special reason.”
“Many outstanding athletes possessed this number.
“It was also the reason why I have a tattoo of something that Steven Gerrard said, though I can’t even recall when it was done.”
Prior to Gerrard, Emile Heskey wore the No. 8 jersey. Other holders of the position during the Premier League period included Oyvind Leonhardsen, Stan Collymore, Jamie Redknapp, and Paul Stewart.
The 43-year-old unquestionably made it famous in the current era, which in turn gave Szoboszlai inspiration.