Jeremie Frimpong was trying to surprise his dad, who is a Liverpool supporter, by hiding his move to Anfield from him. But that plan fell down when it was widely reported in the media.
"He’s a Liverpool fan, so when the rumors were coming out, I was like 'Oh dad, it’s not true, it’s not true'," Frimpong has explained to The Kop TV. "All the family members were like 'Let’s surprise him'.
"When it got too much, when Fabrizio Romano started talking, then obviously my dad’s not stupid, he was like 'Hey Jeremie, is it true?'. I had to travel, and my dad was at my house, and he was asking too many questions, 'Where you going?', this and that.
"So I was like 'Dad, I’m going to go to Liverpool to do my medical’ and he’s like ‘no, really?'. I was like ‘Yeah, Dad, I’m going to go play for your team’, and he was just like ‘No way’. It was a great reaction from him!"
Frimpong will be joined at Liverpool by his former Bayer Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz. And the pair, who met up while they were on vacation this summer, are good friends off the field.
"Now that it’s official, it’s the best feeling," Frimpong told Sky Germany this week. "When I first came to Leverkusen, Flo was the one that took me in. Now we’re doing it all over again — so it’s good.
Bayer Leverkusen's Dutch defender #30 Jeremie Frimpong (L) and Bayer Leverkusen's German midfielder #10 Florian Wirtz speak during the UEFA Champions League last 16, first-leg, football match FC Bayern Munich v Bayer 04 Leverkusen on March 5, 2025 in Munich, southern Germany. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP) (Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images) (Image: Getty Images)
"I've been in Leverkusen for four and a half years, and I won everything. I won the Pokal. I won the Super Cup. I won the Bundesliga. So I wanted a new challenge.
"With Celtic, I won the treble. With Leverkusen, the double. So in Liverpool, I also want to win trophies."
Frimpong has spent much of this week speaking about Wirtz, who has joined the Reds for a club-record deal worth up to $157 million (£116 million) including add-ons.
"That is my boy. Just expect a winner," the Dutch international told Sky Sports. "He is a very, very, very, special player. And for me, he's a very hard-working guy.
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"The league will love him. And I ain't got to talk too much. Just watch. Flo, he doesn’t crumble under pressure; he's a guy that likes pressure. I feel like when you're on the pitch you forget about everything, you just enjoy football, you just play.
"Flo is one of the guys that makes you enjoy football, just seeing how he plays. He's going to be perfect and he's playing with Liverpool players, so he's going to be perfect. He’s going to be fine."
Liverpool.com says: Frimpong and Wirtz are both delighted to be at Anfield, which is hugely exciting. They should both be major success, and will offer new attacking threats to Arne Slot, which is exactly what he was looking for.