On Dominik Szoboszlai’s forearm is an inked reminder of the two people who inspired him the most as a young man. ‘God gives you talent, but if you don’t work hard and sacrifice a lot, it is nothing,’ reads the Hungarian’s tattoo.
It is a quote attributed to Steven Gerrard, who Szoboszlai idolised as a boy and will walk out at Stamford Bridge on Sunday sporting the iconic No 8 shirt that the Liverpool legend wore. A dig through the archives can’t find Gerrard saying said phrase, but the thought is there.
And the story behind the tattoo reveals a lot about the back-story of Liverpool’s new £60million man, who signed from RB Leipzig this summer and is tasked with spearheading Jurgen Klopp’s new-look team.