"Fantastic player, full of joy" - Liverpool stars Van Dijk, Mane, Salah, and Alexander-Arnold name their childhood idols

Liverpool stars Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all revealed the players they idolized while growing up.

A survey by BT Sports sought the opinions of current Premier League stars on who their childhood idols were. The likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Heung-Min Son and Mason Mount were all questioned and they gave different answers.

As children, the current crop of Premier League stars idolized the players who made an impact on the game. They also revealed the various ways in which they looked up to them.

Some attempted to recreate goals in their backyards, while others got customized shirts with the names of their idols on the back. Some greats of the not-too-distant past like Ronaldinho, Ronaldo de Lima, Steven Gerrard and Francesco Totti were all among the names listed.

The Liverpool quartet of Mane, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah were also asked who their idols were while growing up.

Despite being a defender by trade, van Dijk revealed that he was enamored by the Brazilian great Ronaldinho, saying:

"My favorite player growing up was Ronaldinho, fantastic player, full of joy, quality definitely my idol"

Alexander-Arnold unsurprisingly went for a Liverpool icon, having grown up supporting the Reds.

''My favorite player growing up was Steven Gerrard"

Salah elected to choose not one but three modern greats who are all former FIFA World Cup winners.

"Zidane, Ronaldo R9, Totti"

For Mane, Ronaldinho reigned supreme, with the two-time Ballon d'Or winner's skillset and dribbling setting him apart.

"Ronaldinho, wow! Skills and dribbling"

Liverpool closed the gap on Manchester City in the Premier League back to nine points with a game in hand. Fabinho's first-half strike helped them secure a narrow 1-0 away victory over Burnley on Sunday.

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Current football stars playing their part in inspiring the future generation

The current stars are inspiring the next crop of players

Football is a game enjoyed by billions around the globe. Every generation has players who inspire the next crop of stars to lace up their boots and take to the field.

The likes of Zinedine Zidane, Raul Gonzalez, Ronaldo de Lima, Francesco Totti, Steven Gerrard, Didier Drogba among others all played their part in inspiring the current generation.

There are many current footballers who are also playing their part as idols for the next crop of football stars. These include Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Kevin de Bruyne, Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Luis Suarez and Harry Kane, among others.

Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as the two greatest players in history and have followers running into the hundreds of millions around the world.

Lewandowski, Suarez and Kane are pristine goalscorers whose natural instincts in front of goal will inspire young children to aspire to become strikers in future.

Salah and Mane are current Liverpool legends. Young fans of the club and academy players have them as a beacon of hope for their future aspirations.

In a couple of years time, the listed players would've all hung up their playing boots. But they will also be listed as idols of the next generation of footballing superstars.