Jordan Henderson: ‘Real Madrid are facing a different Liverpool, for sure’

Jordan Henderson consults his diary for a date to present a prize from this year’s NHS Big Tea fundraiser. He is the prize. “I’m not sure if that’s a good prize,” he says, with typical modesty and a laugh. “But if we can get as many schools as possible to sign up for the Big Tea that would be brilliant. I’ll visit the winner of the prize draw and do some Q&As with the kids, although that might be tough over the next few weeks.” The Liverpool captain’s schedule is busy with a Champions League final once again.

History awaits the 31-year-old in Paris on Saturday. At the Stade de France Henderson will become the first Englishman to lead a team in three Champions League or European Cup finals. “Wow, I didn’t know that,” he says. With a reversal of fortune against Real Madrid, or another demonstration of the power of Jürgen Klopp’s team, he will emulate Emlyn Hughes as a two-times European Cup-winning captain of Liverpool. Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Carles Puyol are among the select group of skippers who have lifted the famous trophy more than once.

“You say Emlyn Hughes is the only Liverpool captain to win it twice,” Henderson says. “I’m sure he would have said it was the Liverpool team who won it twice, not him. That’s the way I look at it. If we do manage to win it twice it’s because of the team, it’s because of the manager, it’s because of the staff and everybody involved. When the time comes for me to look back on it, that’s what I’ll think about. I never really see it as ‘me’.

“Yes, I wear the armband on a match day and I’ve been here a long time but there are so many other leaders within the dressing room, so many big players, and it is a collective effort. It’s not about me trying to match other amazing captains