“You only live once, so while we’re on this earth, just have fun, love others and just give it positive energy – and then life’s good,” says Jeremie Frimpong.
Life is never dull when the Dutchman, who is close to completing a £29.5m move to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen, is around.
From entertaining goal celebrations, which include getting team-mates to shine his boots, to amusing post-match television interviews, right-sided defender Frimpong is all about fun.
“I like the pink by the way,” he told German football expert Archie Rhind-Tutt, who was wearing a pink jacket, in one live post-match television interview. “Very nice!”
“Often in football it becomes so serious that player interviews can be a bit dull,” former Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger tells BBC Sport.
“Frimpong hasn’t lost any of that freshness, that sense of ‘I am enjoying what I am doing here’. He is different and he has such a refreshing tone.”
Another goal celebration with Leverkusen team-mate Amine Adli went viral on social media after Frimpong celebrated with a smoking gesture,, external just two days after Germany partly decriminalised marijuana use.
Do not, however, be fooled by Frimpong’s playful manner.
Liverpool are investing in a serious talent, who started out in Manchester City’s academy system, showed promise at Celtic before making a name for himself with Bayer Leverkusen.
After four years in Germany, Frimpong is set to return to England after helping Xabi Alonso’s side break Bayern Munich’s dominance and deliver a memorable league and cup double in 2023-24.
Chris Sutton, a Premier League winner with Blackburn in 1994-95, adds: “He’s one who I think has been on the radar for a lot of the really high-profile clubs for a while now and now it is about him making that next step.”
