Harvey Elliott has paid tribute to Roberto Firmino, saying the Liverpool striker's next team will be getting themselves an "amazing human being".
Firmino will leave the club after eight years at Anfield when his contract expires in the summer and will be guaranteed a hero's ovation when the Reds host Aston Villa in their final home game of the Premier League season on May 20.
The former Hoffenheim man has been a key figure for a team who have won every top-level trophy available to them since 2019, with Firmino famously registering the winning goal against Flamengo to seal the Reds only Club World Cup to date over three years ago.
Boyhood Liverpool fan Elliott was just 12 years old when Firmino moved from Germany in the summer of 2015 and the teenager was fulsome in his praise for how the 31-year-old has helped him during his formative years in Jurgen Klopp's squad following his move from Fulham in the summer of 2019.
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"Roberto is amazing as a player and a person," Elliott said. "He has helped me out massively. He always has a smile on his face no matter the situation and for me he's been a big help, trying to learn things off him and he's one of a kind.
"Wherever he goes next in his career, that team is going to be truly blessed with an amazing human being and an amazing player. It's upsetting for him to go and today the reception he received when he came on (against United) and obviously scoring the goal was as happy as they have ever been for him.
"We will wish him well but there are still a few more games left of the season so we're not thinking about that. We just need to make sure that we get what we need to do done and we can say our goodbyes at the end of the season which is going to be an emotional one."
Elliott was speaking after playing a starring role in the 7-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. The youngster was part of a midfield that shone against their fierce rivals with Elliott claiming an assist for Darwin Nunez, who made it 2-0 on the day with a close-range header.
Elliott added: "Amazing, that's all I have to say to be honest. To be able to win as well as we did. The home crowd, I think more than ever this season, we're thinking positively, we're building on performances and these opportunities and situations and for us, it's turning us as a team.
"We're [heading] in the right direction, to say the least, step by step but we need to keep making these steps as well. We need to keep being resilient and keep these performances going as well.
"We always knew what was going to happen. United are a great team, with great players, especially on the counter-attack. They are very quick and skillful with Rashford, Fernandes and Antony as well.
"For us it was about sticking together, keep going and keep trying to create opportunities. As I keep saying [it's about] being resilient and not being satisfied with the 1-0 goal. Obviously it was a well-taken goal by Cody (Gakpo), great build-up play for it as well. For us, we knew we could break them down. We knew if we got chances we could take them and that is what we did today."
"It's a massive result for us and it shows that United are probably the most [in-form]. I don't know how many points they got [of late], I think it's 21 or something like that? But they are the most in-form team some people are saying so for us it's one of them where it's another win, which is important but it's another stepping stone for us.
"We shouldn't doubt ourselves. We're playing these teams and everyone maybe thought differently about today because of recent results and stuff but we're still good enough and we can still play these teams and beat them like today. That's exactly what we'll be looking to do between now and the end of the season."
Asked if Elliott thought his display was his finest yet for the club, he added: "I haven't actually watched it back but most importantly it's just about winning. The team won and I am more than happy about that but once I look back, maybe [it was my best performance].
"But it's one of them, you know, each and every game I want to play the best I've ever played. I have high standards, so I just want to keep going and keep building on things."
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