Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson has been awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list - along with former Reds winger Raheem Sterling and ex-boss Roy Hodgson.
Henderson, who is currently with the England squad preparing for their Euro 2020 opener against Croatia at Wembley on Sunday, has been awarded an MBE.
He has been recognised for his sporting exploits and his part in forming a charitable fund, Players Together, which supported NHS good causes during the first coronavirus pandemic lockdown last spring.
The 30-year-old skippered Liverpool to Premier League, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup triumphs over the last two years.
On receiving his MBE for services to football and charity, Henderson said: “My family and I feel greatly humbled to be recognised in this way, more so given the reason for it. There are many privileges that come from playing professional football, but having a platform to promote a charitable cause such as Players Together and NHS Charities Together is as big a privilege as any.
"It’s important for me to state that although the honour has been issued to me personally, the credit must be shared to a far larger group of people and I accept this in the knowledge I was part of something special, rather than the reason for it.
"The other Premier League captains were the catalyst and the rest of the players, including my own teammates at Liverpool, were a driving force behind the scenes. Huge numbers of football fans, from across the country, also displayed great generosity in donating.
"The other Premier League captains were the catalyst and the rest of the players, including my own teammates at Liverpool, were a driving force behind the scenes. Huge numbers of football fans, from across the country, also displayed great generosity in donating.
"But the true heroes are the NHS staff; they put themselves in harm’s way to serve and protect us. Therefore I dedicate this to all the nurses, doctors, carers, porters, admin workers, cleaners, security personnel and every single individual who devotes their career and their lives to making the NHS the part of British life we are rightly most proud of as a nation."
Henderson is the latest of many serving Liverpool players to receive an MBE, among those being Kenny Dalglish - who was later knighted in 2018 - in 1985, Ian Rush (1996), Gary McAllister (2002) and Steven Gerrard (2007), while managers Bob Paisley (1977) and Bill Shankly (1974) were awarded the OBE. Another Liverpool boss, Gerard Houllier, received on honorary OBE in 2003.
Sterling, who left Anfield in 2015 and has won three Premier League titles with Manchester City, also receives an MBE for services to racial equality in sport, having spoken out candidly on the issue of racism within the game.
And Hodgson has been awarded a CBE having announced his retirement from management last month at the age of 73.
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