A GLITTERING black-tie dinner brought an end to an emotional weekend for Liverpool FC legend Jamie Carragher as his testimonial raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Merseyside charities.
The event at the BT Convention Centre attracted celebrities from the world of sport, TV and music as well as former colleagues and dozens of guests from the business world.
It came after a crowd of almost 36,000 packed into Anfield in the afternoon to see Carragher’s Liverpool take on Everton.
Guests at the £100-a-head dinner were entertained by comedian compere John Bishop with music from James Skelly of The Coral and James Walsh from Starsailor.
Among those attending were former LFC manager Gerard Houllier, goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, Michael Owen, Joe Cole, Emile Heskey and TV star Jeremy Kyle.
Carragher spoke of his pride at playing for Liverpool for 14 years: “It’s great for me that I’ve been at Liverpool for that long and I’m very proud of that fact. Hopefully, I’ll go on to finish my career at Liverpool.
"The main thing is this testimonial and to raise lots of money for charity. It’s something that doesn’t happen that often so it’s something to enjoy. It's something myself and my family are very proud about.”
Asked how good it was to give back to the community through his 23 Foundation he said: "It really is. A lot of people would like to do that. I’m fortunate to be in that position so it’s only right that you give the proceeds to charity.”
