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While Liverpool are believed by many to be amongst the elite clubs in the world, the club has surely lost some of its sheen over the course of the last decade. Their inability to win silverware regularly has been cited by many as the reason why Liverpool are no longer an elite club in England, let alone Europe. Their inability to retain their best players as well as their inefficiencies in the transfer market have left the club red-faced on numerous occasions in the past.
Given their diminished reputation, it is only fitting that several world class players have decided to forego the opportunity to sign for the Reds in the recent past and in this segment, we take a look at 5 superstars who rejected a move to Anfield.
#5 Michael Laudrup
The former Danish international was quite a force to reckon with during his playing days and is regarded as one of the finest players of his generation courtesy of his imperious vision, skill as well as an ability to slice open defences. His performances in the Danish League for Brondby had attracted Liverpool and the player even shook hands to join the Merseyside club in the summer of 1983 in what would have been a 3-year deal.
However, the Reds decided that they were going to increase the tenure of the contract being offered to Laudrup by 12 months at the very last minute and it was a move that did not go down well with Laudrup’s camp as they decided to forego the opportunity to sign for the English giants.
The then 19-year-old instead moved to Juventus and while he had to wait 2 years until he could make an official appearance for the Old Lady of Turin due to restrictions on the number of foreign players and even when he did appear for Juventus, his performances were underwhelming.
He truly came to the fore after his move to Barcelona in 1989 and established himself as the best in the business and was pivotal to the Catalan club winning 4 consecutive La Liga titles in between 1990 and 1994 as well as the European cup in 1992. While he did move to Real Madrid in 1994 amidst controversial terms, his stature as the best player of the '90s stands firm to this day.
Liverpool, who were themselves an English powerhouse in the late 1980s would have benefitted immensely from having a player of the calibre of Laudrup behind the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush and it remains one of the biggest missed opportunities in the history of the club.
#4 Ousmane Dembele
While he might be only 20 years of age, there is no denying the fact that Ousmane Dembele is a world-class talent and while some might find the €105 million fee that Barcelona paid to acquire his services from Borussia Dortmund a bit too high, others believe he will justify the price Barca have paid for him for several seasons to come.
The youngster had already impressed several clubs with his performances for Rennes in Ligue 1 since breaking into the side in the 2015-16 season and it came as no surprise that Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool seemed keen to acquire his services. After all, the Merseyside club that has not won the Premier League since its inception were looking to add to their attacking depth at the beginning of the 2016-17 season and the French superstar was deemed to be the perfect fit.
His abilities on the flank had troubled defenders in France as he racked up 12 goals and 5 assists in 26 appearances during his debut season and Jurgen Klopp decided it was enough to make a move from him. While Liverpool did approach him in the summer of 2016, it proved to be a late one and Dembele slipped from their hands even before he could establish a solid reputation for himself.
Dembele had decided that a move to Dortmund would benefit his career immensely and decided to forego the opportunity to sign for Klopp’s men and in hindsight, it was not such a bad decision. The Vernon-born attacker scored 10 goals and assisted another 18 to become a player oppositions fear and despite being injured at the time of writing this article, Dembele is sure to play a pivotal role at the Camp Nou.
Liverpool, on the other hand, will rue the missed opportunity to lure Dembele to Anfield as his ability on the pitch could definitely have helped the Reds who have put on some lacklustre performances over the last 15 months.
#3 Henrikh Mkhitaryan
He might be a Manchester United player at the moment, but Jurgen Klopp will always have a special place in the heart of Armenian superstar Mkhitaryan. Mkhitaryan, who first started his professional career with Armenian club FC Prunyik as a 17-year-old truly came into the limelight due to his performances for Shakhtar Donetsk, whom he signed for in August of 2010.
The move to the reigning Ukranian club in 2010 presented the Armenian to showcase his skills and he did not disappoint. In the 109 matches that he was part of the Ukranian side, he scored 44 crucial goals and played a pivotal role in the side winning 3 consecutive league titles. So when rumours of his imminent move away from the Metalist Stadium started gaining pace in the summer of 2013, one club, in particular, was believed to be in the driving seat, Liverpool.
Mkhitaryan has revealed that he was in constant talks with the then Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers over a possible move to the English shores and while the opportunity excited him, he was afraid that signing for Liverpool might be a move to big and too soon.
So when the current Liverpool manager and the then Borussia Dortmund manager Klopp decided to pay him a visit in person, Heno, as he is lovingly called by his fans, wasted no time in signing for Borussia Dortmund.
The move proved to be the perfect stepping stone in the attacking midfielder’s career as he not only established himself as a feared player, he also secured a move to English heavyweights in the summer of 2016. Yes, he might not have enjoyed a stellar first season in England but he seems to have found his feet in the current season and has already racked up 2 goals and 5 assists in 9 appearances to help his side’s cause.
#2 Alexis Sanchez
Over the course of the last few years, Liverpool have been left red-faced numerous times in the transfer market. The Reds seemed to have developed a habit of missing out on numerous superstars after spending several months tracking them. However, many believed that the hierarchy at the club were in a position to reverse the trend when they were involved in the chase of Chilean superstar Alexis Sanchez.
The attacker had attracted attention with his performances for Catalan giants Barcelona since moving to the Camp Nou in 2011 yet it was largely believed that the bit-part role that he was afforded at the club infuriated him and he was subsequently deemed available in the summer of 2014. The likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal did not waste any time in expressing their interest in signing up the Chilean.
His future was a subject of constant rumours throughout the FIFA World Cup 2014 and while many believed that Liverpool would finally sign a player of proven calibre in Sanchez, the move failed to materialise. What must have infuriated the Reds faithful even further is the fact that Sanchez decided to reject a move to Anfield in order to secure a move to the Emirates despite the Reds having tabled a higher bid.
While the initial rumours surrounding his decision to move to Arsenal were that he preferred living in London to Liverpool, the player has subsequently clarified that his move to Arsenal was driven solely by footballing logic.
Speaking to BT Sport in 2015, the Chilean revealed, “The reason why I moved to Arsenal is because there were a group of young players with the ambition to achieve things. I thought that Arsenal was the perfect club for me, the perfect club to win titles and compete in every competition.”
#1 Nemanja Vidic
The name Nemanja Vidic is often associated with the phrase rock-solid and deservedly so. The Serbian superstar was a pivotal member of the Sir Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United in between 2006 and 2014 and helped the side win numerous trophies including 5 League titles, 1 UEFA Champions League and 1 FIFA Club World Cup.
His defensive partnership alongside Rio Ferdinand brings a smile to the face of Manchester United fans to this day and he is believed to be amongst the greatest of all time in the Premier League. However, it could have been very different had Liverpool’s approach for him not interrupted by Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Serbian had enjoyed successful stints at Red Star Belgrade and Spartak Moscow as well as the Serbian national team and it came as no surprise to the learned in the game when the Reds made an effort to sign him. Rafael Benitez, the then Liverpool manager had been in contact with Vidic and despite trying to convince him numerous times, failed to close the deal, especially with Vidic being apprehensive about moving to England.
What is perhaps funny is that the apprehension disappeared when Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson, in particular, decided to get involved. The Scot convinced Vidic that he had a role to play in his project at the Old Trafford and before Liverpool could realise what had hit them, Vidic had been unveiled as a Manchester United player.
The player has claimed that the move was completed in a matter of 2 days and while his performances against Liverpool were often sub-par, the Serbian played a crucial role in ensuring Sir Alex Ferguson could fulfil his desire of knocking Liverpool off their perch.
