Firmino's U-17 Coach: "But he sometimes lacked clarity when it came to finishing moves. He liked to “decorate”, to do the aesthetic thing when he needed to keep things simple. We talked about that with him; he understood and improved."

Keita's youth coach: We didn’t have much equipment so I had to buy everything, balls, cones, the lot... Naby’s family couldn’t afford much either. His mum used to sell a dish called akyeke, to feed the family. He sometimes ate at mine but his mum didn’t want him to live with us."

"With his small stature, he could go around 1,2,3 players, even past the goalkeeper. We nicknamed him 'Deco' after the Barcelona player. He didn’t like contact that much. I used to say to him, 'If you want to be like Deco, you have to be braver.' Football is difficult.

"I still speak to him often, once or twice a month. He has bought me a television and a motorbike and a car. I’m always there for him, like a father. I give him some advice. I tell him he can be like Lionel Messi."

Gomez's youth coach "We brought a group up to tour Anfield. I got my picture taken in front of Joe’s shirt.

I sent him the photo and joked that I was going to nick the shirt. He sent me one back saying, “Don’t do that, I’ll send you one!” I left it where it was!"