Late on Thursday afternoon, after Liverpool's training session at Melwood had ended, Gini Wijnaldum climbed aboard the private plane he had paid for to whisk him to Holland for the evening.
It was not so he could attend a rock concert or party the night away in a club in Amsterdam. That is not really his style. It was because he wanted to repay a debt of sorts.
Six years ago, during an unhappy period in his time at PSV Eindhoven when Wijnaldum was being left out of the side and his critics were saying he had failed to live up to his early promise, Willem van Hanegem, one of the great Netherlands players of the Seventies, wrote an article about him in a Dutch newspaper.
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'At an important moment in my career, he was protecting me against all the negative things that were being written about me,' says Wijnaldum.
'I didn't know him but he wrote that I was too good to play the way I was playing and that in your career, you will always have moments when it doesn't go well. Soon after that, I called him and we became friends.'
So when the organisers of a 75th birthday celebration for Van Hanegem asked Wijnaldum if he could attend Thursday night's event, even though he is consumed by the relentlessness of Liverpool's Premier League title race, he did not hesitate.
He checked his work schedule and booked the plane. It flew Wijnaldum to Rotterdam, the city where he grew up and he was driven to De Doelen concert hall, where he was introduced on stage as a surprise guest.
Van Hanegem was moved that Wijnaldum had taken the trouble to attend but whether to go or not was not something Wijnaldum needed to think too hard about.
'Sure it would have been easier not to go, but I felt it was important because he did a lot for me without me even asking him,' he says. 'People wanted me to be a part of this celebration and I said "yes" immediately because he did so many things for me.'
Wijnaldum told Sportsmail that he had no intention of leaving Liverpool last summer
The 28-year-old midfielder admits he has an ego, but says that it is under control
The story fits with what everything you hear about Wijnaldum. One of the men on the gate at Melwood says he has been there for more than a decade and Wijnaldum is in the top five nicest players he has met. He does his job quietly and without fuss. He works for the team, not for himself.
He has an ego, like all of us, he says, but it is very much under control. 'I don't think it's wrong to have a big ego,' he says. 'Sometimes a big ego can help you also. As a football player, you must have a big ego to respect yourself. So if you are a good player, you must say that you are good. You need to have the confidence.
'With Ibrahimovic, say, I like it because he knows he's good so he appreciates himself. I'm a bit different to that. I'm quite a shy person but I know I'm a good football player. That's just the way I am. That's the way I grew up. My grandmother brought me up and she is the same way. She's understated but she knows what she's worth.'
Wijnaldum is understated and underrated but gradually the second half of that description is being eroded. As Liverpool prepare to face a Manchester United side whose supporters are desperate for them to dent their rival's title challenge on Sunday, the importance of Wijnaldum to Jurgen Klopp's team has never been more obvious.
Able to play as a No 8 or as a holding midfielder, Wijnaldum, 28, has become Klopp's most trusted player, his go-to-guy.
When Liverpool's rise is discussed, people talk about Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. Or they talk about Alisson and Virgil van Dijk. Somewhere in the middle, Wijnaldum is the glue that holds it all together.
Wijnaldum accepts attacking players will get more praise but stresses football is a team game
Premier League: 23 appearances, two goals
Champions League: Seven appearances, one assist
Total: 30 appearances, two goals, one assist
Wijnaldum has been the unsung hero for much of his two-and-a-half seasons at Anfield but most Liverpool supporters will tell you they are only too keenly aware of his worth.
When Klopp bought Naby Keita and Fabinho to the club in the summer, some thought Wijnaldum would lose his place. In fact, he has played more games for Liverpool this season than any other midfielder.
'I didn't worry when the club signed Keita and Fabinho,' says Wijnaldum. 'You play for Liverpool. Liverpool is a top club. Even if you do well in your position, if there is another player that does well, every club wants to sign him.
'So also Liverpool wants to sign
