The 54-year-old former footballer had grown up in Finland watching the English side on TV so felt “special” when he got to pull on their iconic red strip for the first time after signing in 2001.

He recalled to FourFourTwo magazine:” Going to Anfield as a player was special. The atmosphere felt so unique.

“Then, wearing the famous red shirt for the first time in the Premier League at Aston Villa, it was a dream come true.”

Jari wore number 37 at Liverpool but only because he couldn’t have four other numbers he had requested.

He explained: “I was five years old when I first started following Liverpool and my first idol was Kevin Keegan.

“When he moved to Hamburg, I couldn’t watch him as often but I started to admire his replacement, Kenny Dalglish – he was clinical in front of goal, technically gifted and moved so intelligently…

“When I joined the club in 2001, it was special. When they asked what number I wanted, they assumed I’d say 10, but I said ‘What about 7?’ It was already taken by Vladimir Smicer.

“’What about 17?’ Steven Gerrard had it. ‘How about 27?’ Gregory Vignal. Then I asked for 37 – actually, I first asked for 77, because I wanted the 7 of Keegan and the 7 of Dalglish, but they told me that was too high and would be the biggest number in the league.

“So 37 was perfect. Three times seven – Keegan, Dalglish, and me.”