Liverpool cult hero Ragnar Klavan makes surprise Eurovision appearance
‘Hello amazing city!’: Liverpool cult hero Ragnar Klavan makes surprise Eurovision appearance from Estonia as he reads out who his country awarded their votes to… and brands event a ‘boss night’ before telling people of Ukraine ‘you’ll never walk alone’
- Defender Klavan played for Liverpool for two years between 2016 and 2018
- He made several references to Liverpool as a place and football team on air
- The Estonian received a huge cheer from those in attendance in the city
Former Liverpool defender Ragnar Klavan received loud cheers in the city on Saturday as he made a surprise appearance during Eurovision.
The Estonian appeared via video call to announce the traditional votes from his country, and received a hero’s welcome from the crowd when he was seen.
Klavan played for Liverpool in the Premier League between 2016 and 2018, making 53 appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s side after joining from Augsburg in Germany for £4.3million, making him the most expensive Estonian footballer ever.
Now 37, Klavan is currently without a club but is keeping himself busy with an appearance on the annual programme, hosted in England this year for the first time since 1998.
He branded Liverpool ‘an amazing city’ as he spoke for around a minute, making regular references to the club where he played under Jurgen Klopp.
Ragnar Klavan appeared on Liverpool’s Eurovision show to award Estonia’s points
Klavan played for Liverpool between 2016 and 2018, making 53 appearances in total
‘Hello amazing city of Liverpool!’ he began. ‘Wow, what a show.
‘What a boss night,’ he continued, referencing an adjective Klopp regularly uses to describe his team.
‘All the Estonians are sending their strength to people of Ukraine. You’ll never walk alone.’
The song ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is associated closely with Liverpool, with the team playing it before every home game and the slogan regularly used by fans and players.
It was performed at the Liverpool Arena by a group of Eurovision legends as emotion poured out from the performers and presenters.
Liverpool native Sonia was one of the acts on stage, while last year’s United Kingdom entry and runner up, Sam Ryder, was also present.
Presenter Graham Norton said after the performance: ‘You don’t see that every day, I’ve got a tear in my silly old eye.’
The defender made several references to the football club and city while on air on the show
The footballer, who has most recently been playing back in their homeland, reached the final of the Estonian edition of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ last year.
Paired up with dancer Kerttu Tanav, the footballer surprised himself and quite a few others with his dancing exploits late last year.
In January 2018, he became the first player from the Baltic country to score in the Premier League when netting a last-gasp winner at Burnley.
Klavan was an unused substitute in the 2018 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in Kyiv before he was sold on to Italian club Cagliari for £2m that summer.
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