EXCLUSIVE: Dominik Szoboszlai on Liverpool life, 'dream' final and becoming a dressing room leader

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So I don't know anything about it until I have to decide about something."It was really quick, he said they were interested, I said let's go, Jurgen called me and then I signed. But he was sitting in a car, so I called him back quickly, I apologised that I couldn't get on the first phone call and he was OK with that."I remember being on holiday with my friends and then my agent called me to be available in maybe two or three hours because Jurgen is going to call you."I then forgot and I was in the sea, so my friends are running out saying: 'Your phone is ringing and Jurgen is calling you!' So I was running back to the place and I had to call him back.

And then we started to speak and obviously he told me he would like to have me here and I said I am ready to come."Having listened to You'll Never Walk Alone on repeat on the flight to Merseyside for his medical, Szoboszlai was determined to immerse himself in his new club's culture as much as possible prior to making his Anfield bow."I knew [how big Liverpool was], actually, but once you are inside you realise properly what it does mean to be a Liverpool player. Then, when I stepped into the training ground, seeing how everything is there and what kind of players are playing here, it was just a dream come true for me."The idea of taking the No.8 might have been one many players - particularly those arriving for big-money fees - would have been keen to avoid but Szoboszlai was drawn to the shirt because of Gerrard and his Anfield legacy.And while comparisons between the pair have been aired a few times during an impressive personal campaign for the current No.8, Szoboszlai says he is not looking to replicate what the iconic former skipper did at Liverpool, insisting he can become a totem of the team in a different way."It is a big compliment," he says, speaking at the Easter lunch of Merseyside charity Football For Change, which is chaired by Jamie Carragher."But I've many times that I just try to do my own story and sometimes we struggle as a team but we always try to put everything on the pitch and then this season I do stuff off the pitch, trying to help the new guys, coming from different leagues."I know how it feels to be new and I know how hard it is to come to the Premier League and especially Liverpool where you are always expected to win trophies."I hope [I am becoming a leader] but you have to ask someone else how they see it but I try to do my best on and off the pitch, try to keep everyone [together], try to be a leader [with] what I am doing on the pitch and that is the most important thing for me.

"I am close with him but I know he doesn't say that because we are close. "You know, I was a really angry person after games if something didn't work as much as I wanted it to, but since she was born I get angry now for two minutes and then I think about her and then I realise what the most important thing in life is."The prospect of his Liverpool future has populated the discourse around Szoboszlai in recent months and the club remain in talks with his representatives EM Sports to secure a deal that is in line with the progress he has made since he joined in the summer of 2023.Szoboszlai was keen to steer clear of muddying the waters further on that front but negotiations are ongoing and it is understood he is eager to extend his stay for the long term at the place he now calls home with his young family."I love being here," he says.