Liverpool made their annual Christmas visit to the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital on Thursday, with Arne Slot and his players greeting families and sharing gifts.
Every year, the Liverpool squad make the trip to Alder Hey to surprise children and their families ahead of Christmas.
Slot and his players headed to the children’s hospital, located in West Derby, on Thursday, giving gifts and taking part in various activities with those receiving treatment.
The players handed out presents, played games and signed shirts for the youngsters at the hospital, with it clearly having an impact on Slot and his squad.
“If you look at how passionate the people are that work here, how much they want to help everyone here to give them the best possible time, it’s special to see,” Slot reflected.
“[In football] we think we do something that is special or that is important, but we don’t.
“If you come to a place like this, then you see what’s really important, what’s really special work to do.”
Virgil van Dijk said: “I know it’s a nice surprise for all of them, Alder Hey is an amazing hospital with amazing people that work here.
“It’s a special place where obviously hopefully everyone gets better.”
And Mo Salah added: “The first thing is always that it reminds us to be grateful for our health.
“You see the people who suffer from stuff and we just take that for granted. It gives me things inside me to stay humble and be grateful for our health.”
Not every child was a Liverpool fan, with young Archie a die-hard Wrexham supporter, and Curtis Jones joked when he entered a room decked out in Wrexham merchandise:
“We’ve got a big job on our hands apparently!”
“To see a little girl like that who’s a little bit more grown but with a massive smile on her face,” said new dad Jones after meeting another young girl, “it’s a difficult time, but you see things like that and it cheers you up.”
There were smiles all round as the Liverpool players made their way through the hospital, with hope that every child enjoys their Christmas and makes a full recovery.
