Summary

  • 2022 Champions League final: Liverpool v Real Madrid - Saturday, 28 May

  • Stade de France, Paris, 20:00 BST kick-off

  • Listen live on BBC Radio 5 Live

  • Liverpool seeking Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup treble

  1. Jordan Henderson - role modelpublished at 16:17 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Age: 31 Position Midfielder Liverpool career 448 apps, 33 goals

    Captain. Serial trophy winner. NHS champion.

    If you're looking for a role model, look no further than Jordan Henderson.

    If you're looking for the person who makes this Liverpool team tick, look no further than the owner of the No 14 shirt.

    'Hendo' arrived at Anfield from his local club Sunderland in June 2011 at the age of 20. He has since established himself as a highly respected leader.

    Lifting trophies since 2012.

    .Image source, Getty Images
    .Image source, Getty Images
    .Image source, PA Media
  2. NHS championpublished at 16:16 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Media caption,

    Henderson visits NHS staff at hospital

    Henderson was at the forefront of an initiative that saw Premier League players generate funds to help those fighting on the National Health Service frontline at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020.

    "I can only imagine how tough it's been," he said when meeting NHS staff supported by his 'Players Together' charity initiative.

    Henderson also spent a the day with staff from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

    In June 2021, Henderson became an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours after he raised £4m for the NHS from fellow Premier League footballers.

    Henderson dedicated his MBE to NHS staff across the country and said: "I’ll dedicate this to them because they put their lives at risk to help the nation."

  3. Completed it, matepublished at 16:13 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Henderson took on one of the hardest jobs in football when he was appointed Liverpool captain in 2015 after club legend Steven Gerrard left for LA Galaxy.

    It's fair to say he's flourished in the role.

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  4. Fabinho - the ex-Real Madrid manpublished at 16:12 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Age: 28 Position: Midfielder Liverpool career: 169 apps, 11 goals

    .Image source, Rex Features

    Full name Fabio Henrique Tavares.

    The Brazilian will be facing his former club if he lines up in Paris. Mind you, his stay at Real Madrid was short and sweet and he actually only played 14 minutes of first-team football under Jose Mourinho in 2013.

    Fabinho cost Liverpool £39m when they signed him from Monaco in 2018 but it's fair to say he's paid that back and more over the past four years.

    As comfortable in defence - where he reads danger and mops up attacks - as he is in a defensive midfield role where he is relentless at winning possession.

  5. Naby Keita - another cup final start?published at 16:10 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Age 27 Position: Midfielder Liverpool career: 115 apps, 11 goals

    .Image source, Rex Features

    He started both this season's FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals, but will Naby Keita be part of the side that lines up at the Stade de France?

    He might not always get the headlines, but the Guinea midfielder has certainly played his part since joining from RB Leipzig.

    • Assist v Villarreal in Champions League semi-final
    • Winning goal at Newcastle on 30 April
    • Opening goal at Man Utd on 24 October
    • Opening goal against Chelsea in 2019-20 title season
    • Opening goal in Club World Cup semi-final in 2019-20
  6. Playing football barefootpublished at 16:07 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    .Image source, Rex Features

    In an interview with Goal.com, Keita said he played football with nothing on his feet while growing up in Guinea.

    His mother, Miriam Camara, would have to confiscate items from his feet.

    "She has told me that anything that would fall from the table, whether it was a bottle of water or an orange, I would dribble with it," said Keita.

    "Whatever was on the floor that I could kick, I would entertain myself with it. No matter where she would take me, I would do this."

    Read more on Naby Keita: From dodging cars on the streets of Guinea to Liverpool., external

  7. Mohamed Salah - jewel in the crownpublished at 16:06 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Age: 29 Position: Forward Liverpool career: 253 apps, 156 goals

    Media caption,

    BBC Sport looks back at how Liverpool forward Mo Salah reached 100 Premier League goals.

    What more is there to say about Mohamed Salah?

    The £34m Liverpool paid Roma for the former Chelsea forward in 2017 will surely go down as one of the best bits of business in the club's history.

    Salah has provided a ton of goals, a ton of assists and a ton of memories for the Reds.

    Will they be kneeling before the 'Egyptian King' in Paris on Saturday?

  8. Tears of joy this time?published at 16:05 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Salah says Liverpool have a "score to settle" against Real Madrid in what is a repeat of the 2018 Champions League final.

    The Reds forward left the pitch in Kyiv in tears four years ago after falling heavily following a challenge by Sergio Ramos.

    Real went on to win 3-1 and Salah told BT Sport: "We lost in the final against them, so I want to play against them and hopefully win it from them as well."

    .Image source, AFP
    .Image source, Rex Features
  9. Tribute wallpublished at 16:03 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    .Image source, BBC Sport

    No wonder there's a mural paying tribute to Salah a stone's throw away from Anfield.

    He finished 2021-22 the Premier League's joint leading scorer and top assist provider - 23 goals and 13 assists.

  10. Sadio Mane - 'a machine'published at 16:02 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Age: 30 Position: Forward Liverpool career: 268 apps, 120 goals

    Media caption,

    'Fighter' Mane wants to win 'everything' with Liverpool

    Sadio Mane has established himself as one of the best forwards in world football since turning down Manchester United, external and joining Liverpool from Southampton for £34m in 2016.

    The Senegal star, known for his frightening pace and ruthless finishing, has scored 120 goals in 268 appearances for the club.

    "He's a machine," said Jurgen Klopp.

    "What Sadio has done for this club and continues to do puts him in the bracket of legend.

    "We are so appreciative of him and I know for sure the levels he reaches at the moment are not the peak - there is even more to come from this very special player."

  11. Forward who cleans toilets in local mosquepublished at 16:01 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    .Image source, Reuters

    Before Liverpool's Champions League final in 2019, Mane gifted Liverpool shirts to locals in his hometown of Bambali in Senegal.

    "There are 2,000 in the village. I bought 300 Liverpool jerseys to send to the people in the village, so the fans can wear to watch the final," said Mane.

    Bambali is where Mane watched Liverpool's famous comeback against AC Milan to win the 2005 Champions League final - at the age of 13.

    In June 2021, he donated £500,000, external to help fund the construction of a hospital in Bambali.

    Despite being one of the most prolific strikers in the world, Mane is unassuming off the pitch.

    He was filmed cleaning up the toilet facilities, external of his local mosque, hours after scoring in Liverpool's 2-1 Premier League win against Leicester in 2018.

    Read more on Sadio Mane: 'He has a Bentley but drives to the mosque in a not-so-fancy car'.

  12. Seven trophies in 2022?published at 15:59 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    If everything goes to plan, Sadio Mane will finish 2022 with SEVEN trophies.

    He's already won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal as well as the FA Cup and Carabao Cup with Liverpool this calendar year.

    As FA Cup winners, Liverpool will compete in the Community Shield and if they win the Champions League they will play against Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the Uefa Super Cup in Helsinki on 10 August.

    In addition, Senegal have qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Mane scoring the winning penalty in a shootout against Egypt in the play-offs, just as he did to win the Cup of Nations for his country.

    .Image source, PA Media
  13. Luis Diaz - 'fits like a glove'published at 15:56 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Age: 25 Position: Winger Liverpool career: 25 apps, 6 goals

    .Image source, PA Media

    "What a boy. What a story. What a player. He gets our football 100%. He fits like a glove to our football and that's really, really special."

    Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for Luis Diaz following his man-of-the-match display against Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

    It's fair to say Diaz has hit the ground running since signing from Porto in a deal worth £37.5m in January.

    So much so that some believe the Colombia international could be the signing of the season.

  14. 'He's like a trigger'published at 15:55 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Rio Ferdinand
    Former England defender

    Diaz has just been a breath of fresh air.

    You watch him play, on the ball he’s brilliant. But his reaction when they lose the ball is unreal.

    He’s like a trigger, bang, go and get it back. For those reasons, he’s the standout signing of the season for me.

    Media caption,

    The Football News Show: Is Liverpool's Luis Diaz the signing of the season?

  15. Malnutrition concernspublished at 15:54 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    One of Diaz's hobbies as a child was to watch large trains go by his village of Barrancas, Colombia, three times a day. They were carrying coal and most of the product was loaded onto ships and sent to Europe.

    As trains moved through, Diaz often caught himself wondering if he would ever have a chance to see more of the world too.

    Very few kids born in the region actually have. To this day, it remains one of the most neglected areas by the Colombian government - where 4,770 children died from malnutrition between 2008 and 2016.

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    When former Colombia international John 'Pocillo' Diaz first met the young winger in 2015, the coach was astonished by how underweight he looked.

    "For a moment, we thought it would be very difficult for him to perform because he seemed to have malnutrition problems - he was very skinny and lost the duels with other players," he recalled.

    Read more on Luis Diaz: Comparisons with Luis Figo.

  16. Roberto Firmino - Si Senor!published at 15:51 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Age: 30 Position: Forward Liverpool career: 326 apps, 98 goals

    .Image source, Rex Features

    "What can I say about Roberto Firmino? He's like the engine of the team."

    Liverpool's No 9 has delivered a pile of goals plus much more since arriving from Hoffenheim for a fee of about £29m in 2015.

    In doing so, he has become a huge favourite with fans who love singing about the Brazilian.

    "Si senor, give the ball to Bobby and he will score."

  17. 'His mum worried he'd become a bandit'published at 15:49 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Firmino poses with former classmate and Flamenguinho team-mate Lucialdo da Silva Almeida during a visit to Trapiche in 2018 when he donated 500 food baskets, snacks and toys for the schoolchildrenImage source, Lucialdo da Silva Almeida
    Image caption,

    Firmino poses with former classmate and Flamenguinho team-mate Lucialdo da Silva Almeida during a visit to Trapiche in 2018 when he donated 500 food baskets, snacks and toys for the schoolchildren

    Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira was born on 2 October 1991 in Trapiche da Barra, a poor neighbourhood in Brazil squeezed between a polluted lake and a poverty-stricken favela.

    That home in Trapiche has recently been refurbished and converted into a hotdog store.

    "Roberto's mother worried that because of the neighbourhood he could become a bandit, but he never thought about that kind of thing," says an old friend, Dedeu, who still lives in Trapiche.

    "He was quiet and timid - he just smiled - but he was football crazy. Even when he didn't have a ball, he'd be doing keepie-ups with an orange.

    "His dream was to be a professional, but where we live it's very difficult to achieve these things. That's why I am so happy for him. He deserves all his success."

    Read more about Roberto Firmino: Liverpool forward's journey from humble origins.

  18. Red Arrowspublished at 15:48 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Mohamed Salah (156), Sadio Mane (120) and Roberto Firmino (98) have scored a combined 374 goals for Liverpool.

    .Image source, Rex Features
  19. Diogo Jota - 15 Premier League goalspublished at 15:46 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Age: 25 Position: Forward Liverpool career: 84 apps, 34 goals

    .Image source, Reuters

    The £41m Liverpool paid Wolves for Diogo Jota in September 2020 looks like a snip after wasting no time showcasing his talents.

    Jota is nicknamed 'Slota' by his team-mates because he always scores.

    Only Sadio Mane (16), Harry Kane (17), Cristiano Ronaldo (18), Son Heung-min (23) and Mohamed Salah (23) managed more Premier League goals than Jota's 15 in 2021-22.

    "At Wolves he had a different job and he did that job that good that we thought, ‘We want him’," said Jurgen Klopp.

    "He is growing into the top, world-class striker role step by step."

  20. Takumi Minamino - loves a cup goalpublished at 15:44 British Summer Time 25 May 2022

    Age: 27 Position: Forward Liverpool career: 55 apps, 14 goals

    .Image source, Rex Features

    Takumi Minamino has made just nine starts this season but without his contribution, Liverpool might not have won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

    The Japan winger, signed from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020, finished as the Reds' top scorer in both competitions, scoring four times in the EFL Cup and three times in the FA Cup.

    However, he was an unused substitute in the Carabao Cup final and did not make the bench for the FA Cup final.

    His contribution has not gone unnoticed, with former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique tweeting in appreciation of Minamino earlier this month.