Liverpool £30m snub that frustrated Brendan Rodgers and angered Daniel Levy shows major FSG change

Liverpool £30m snub that frustrated Brendan Rodgers and angered Daniel Levy shows major FSG change

Liverpool Echo Sports·2021-08-25 18:00

Some Liverpool fans remain somewhat frustrated as we meander through the final week of the summer transfer window, despite the Reds positive start to the season.Having welcomed the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson back from long-term injury layoffs, Jurgen Klopps side are one of five Premier League teams to have won both their opening two fixtures of the season.Currently sitting third after West Hams thrashing of Leicester City on Monday, Liverpool have scored five goals without return so far during the campaign and could climb the table further when they welcome Chelsea to Anfield on Saturday.Yet Thomas Tuchels European champions are an example of Reds supporters frustrations.Klopps transfer spending this summer has been limited to the £36m arrival of Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig. Its a rather different story at Stamford Bridge and the rest of Liverpools title-rivals.READ MORE: Michael Owen cannot escape harsh Luis Suarez and Fernando Torres reality as old Liverpool wounds wont healChelsea spent a club-record £97.5m to re-sign Romelu Lukaku earlier this month, and are still reportedly in the market for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde before the window closes next Tuesday.Meanwhile, reigning champions Man City brought in Jack Grealish for an English record £100m, and would happily smash that fee again if they are successful in efforts to sign Harry Kane.Elsewhere, Manchester United parted with a combined £107m to acquire Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane while even struggling Arsenal have splashed £126.95m to sign Ben White, Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares.With the Reds so far seemingly reluctant to strengthen their squad further, with Klopp apparently content with the options already at his disposal, owners FSG have been the subject of fans frustrations with them being accused of not backing their side financially in the transfer market.At least, in Konate, Liverpool have signed the man they wanted though, with it being a rather different story in the Reds not too distant past.As it stands, it is Liverpools choice that they have not dipped their toes back into transfer market waters, instead observing proceedings as they focus on offloading squad players before deciding whether or not there will be an opportune moment for a late-window purchase.Yet in the past, even following Klopps arrival in October 2015, the Reds and FSG would often be left frustrated in their attempts to sign big-money targets.Pursuits for the likes of Diego Costa, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alexis Sanchez and Mario Gotze were ultimately unsuccessful, while Liverpool even missed out on deals for Mohamed Salah, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Alex Teixeira.Sometimes it was a players choice, the individual not interested in signing for a club not certain to be competing in the Champions League. Other times it was financial, with Reds unable to agree a transfer fee or stump up wage demands.In Brendan Rodgers final months at the club, Liverpool knew such moves were ambitious with them not yet back at European footballs elite table. But as time has gone on under Klopp, and the Reds have risen to greater heights than ever before, such snubs have become increasingly rare.Having won the Champions League, Premier League and FIFA Club World Cup in the past two years, it is hard for any player to say no to Liverpool.Yet one transfer snub back in 2013 cost the Reds big-time in the short term, ultimately helping to derail their swift progress under Rodgers in a rather cruel twist of irony.But come 2020 and it proved to be the biggest blessing in disguise for Klopps would-be Premier League champions.After bringing in Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho to support Luis Suarez the previous January, and with Raheem Sterling beginning to make his mark at Anfield, Rodgers wanted to strengthen his attacking options further heading into the 2013/14 season.The subject of his desires? Willian.Then 25, the winger had joined Anzhi Makhachkala in a £30m deal in January 2013, but they transfer listed their entire squad the following August following a financial restructure.Keen to take advantage and with the club willing to match the £30m asking fee, Rodgers set captain Steven Gerrard on the charm offensive to help bring the Brazilian to Anfield.Unfortunately for the Northern Irish coach, his skipper would be unsuccessful.The quest for William became more urgent. Brendan and the club hoped I could convince him,Gerrard recalled in his 2015 autobiography. I also knew that if we got Willian, and the club were ready to spend £30m, it would show Luis (Suarez) we meant business."I followed the usual routine when approaching a star player we wanted to sign. Instead of calling him directly I always sent a text. It seemed more respectful and allowed the player to read my message at a time when it suited him best. A cold call felt wrong."I slipped into the groove with Willian. I said hello and hoped he didnt mind me contacting him directly."I stressed how much I admired him as a player and then, having mentioned the fact that I knew Liverpool were speaking to his agent, I used the standard line: If you need to chat or ask any questions Im available at any time."It was the opening move in a familiar game. The reply came in and the same old conversation started. Willian thanked me and he said the usual, along the lines of, Id love to play with you, Steven, blah-blah-blah, but there are other clubs I need to talk to as well.Must-read Liverpool FC news"I knew Spurs and Chelsea were also very keen on Willian. So I answered him and said, of course, I understood the situation."But I then went in with my sales pitch. I think Liverpool would be a great move for you. The fans are amazing, the history is there and were building a good team. You could do something great here and wed love to have you."The next text from Willian was so obvious I could have written it for him even before I read it."He again said that it would be great to play in the same team as me but, Im not sure Liverpool can give me the Champions League."There was no disputing it. I could not guarantee Champions League football with Liverpool to Willian or any of the other dozens of players I had contacted over the years."Liverpool finished seventh in 2012/13, missing out on Europe altogether, while Tottenham had qualified for the Europa League and Chelsea were in the Champions League. Willian could not be faulted for snubbing the Reds, as Spurs stepped in to sign him, reportedly offering him higher wages, at their expense.But having also missed out on Mkhitaryan to Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund that summer, that didnt prevent Rodgers from feeling frustrated.Over the course of the summer, we have been very ambitious in our attempts to try to get in players to improve the team, he said when it looked like the winger was off to White Hart Lane.Some might say too ambitious but this is Liverpool Football Club we are trying to get the best players that we possibly can. If we cant get them in, we just have to move on.Weve got 11 days to go, we have to do everything we possibly can.It hasnt changed; if youre going to climb the league, you have to have quality and you have to get the best players you possibly can into your club to help you climb. Thats our aim.Join our official Liverpool fans groupConnect with Liverpool fans from around the world in our official supporters group.Keep up to date with the latest breaking news, transfer gossip and everything LFC with thousands of Reds!Join our group for FREE by clicking here!Of course if you dont get the player you want, theres always that initial disappointment but you cant dwell on it. Theres still a chunk of the window left.Weve done some business early on in the window, which was very good. Now if we can finish off in these remaining days and get some players in that can help us, it would end a very good window for us.In a further interview, he said: "Its disappointing because this was a player who would have been perfect for us. It wasnt a football [decision] and I dont really want to go into it thats for us as a club really."The bottom line is he hasnt come here for whatever reason and we move on. We identify the targets and then try and get the deal done financially. Thats how it was."The club has pushed financially as hard as they felt they could but it wasnt to be."Having decided Liverpool wasnt for him, Willian underwent a medical at Tottenham ahead of a £30m deal but there was to be a twist in the tale as Chelsea swooped in to sign him under the nose of their London rivals to the delight of their fans and disgust of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.The Brazilian had wanted to join Chelsea but, with no other offer on the table, travelled to North London in a van for a medical instead.However, there he was met by his agent Kia Joorabchian and told a switch to Stamford Bridge was on after all after Roman Abramovich contacted his compatriot and fellow oligarch Suleyman Kerimov the owner of Anzhi to hijack the deal and persuade him to sell him the player instead.Spurs officials were left furious as Willian had to spend another eight hours at Spurs lodge before completing his move to Chelsea, with club sources at the time claiming Levy was incandescent and there was a firm belief in the Tottenham camp that Chelsea did not truly want Willian, and only moved for him to prevent former manager Andre Villas-Boas from constructing a squad to challenge them in the Premier League.Also believing Willian had no say in the transfer - that it was down purely to Abramovich, Kerimov and the player's advisers - salt was rubbed in Tottenham wounds when Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was quick to mock them in his next press conference when quizzed on the imminent transfer."That's the danger of medicals before contracts, the Portuguese cheekily teased. "But at the same time if you do the contract then the medical after, sometimes you can have a problem by signing a player with problems. So you have to do the medical before, but the best thing to do is to do the medical in secret.Do the medical in secret. If the player is fine, you can sign him; if the player is not fine, you don't destroy his career by saying to the world the player has some problems.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated Articles"So you protect the situation, so you do it in secret, and after that when you sign the contract with the club and with the player you say: 'Done.'"So when we do it and we make it public, sometimes you don't make it, sometimes you guys [the media], you have great sources and find everything, but that's the risk.""We have to do a medical!" Mourinho then added to the laughter of journalists in the room when asked when he expected the deal to be done.For the record, Willian maintains Chelsea was also his desired choice and signed for the Londoners on August 25, 2013.The situation was complicated. Well, not complicated actually. It was more... unusual, Willian told FourFourTwo when reflecting on the move back in 2017.When I came to London, there were other clubs interested in my football: Liverpool, Tottenham as well as Chelsea. I was just waiting for the negotiations to be completed. My agent was talking to the clubs.I was just waiting for the decision. In the end, I ended up going to Chelsea. When I understood they were really keen to sign me, I said my decision was made. I wanted to go to Chelsea.A look at the Brazilians record at Stamford Bridge and he can have no regrets about his choice of move, scoring 63 goals from 339 appearances in seven seasons. He also won two Premier Leagues, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Europa League along the way.Yet two goals in particular from his time at Chelsea were of great importance to Liverpool.The first came at Anfield in April 2014 as the Reds lost 2-0 to Mourinhos men in a game which ultimately saw them lose control in the title race with just two games left to play.Sign up for daily Liverpool newsGet all the latest Liverpool breaking news, team news, transfer rumours, injury updates plus analysis of what's next for the Reds.You'll also get the latest transfer talk and analysis every day for FREE! Sign up here - it only takes a few seconds!With Chelsea already ahead after Demba Ba pounced on Gerrards slip, the Brazilian was on hand to score their second in stoppage-time as former Red Fernando Torres resisted netting himself when one-on-one to gift the winger the simplest of tap-ins.Yet come June 2020 and Willian helped clinch that elusive Premier League title for Klopps Liverpool, scoring a late winner against Man City at Stamford Bridge from the penalty spot to prompt wild Reds euphoria.With the wingers contract up later that summer, he had again been linked with a move to Anfield, to serve as a back-up option to the likes of Salah and Sadio Mane, but Liverpool insiders were always adamant he was not on their radar.Such a move would have no doubt been more appealing to the Brazilian, with him ultimately signing for Arsenal on a free transfer, considering the Reds status as Premier League, European and World Champions at the time.But that only highlights how much the club has changed under FSGs stewardship with Liverpools transfer fate entirely in their own hands, rather than the Reds frantically trying to bring in ambitious recruits.Despite Willians performances for Chelsea over the years, they will rarely have cursed missing out on his signature, even if it did help cost them a Premier League title.And now, after a disappointing maiden season at Arsenal, he will have only emphasised why Liverpool were wise not to move for the winger even on a free transfer.Scoring just once from 37 appearances at the Emirates and with the North London outfit keen to get him off the wage bill, the 33-year-old is reportedly set to leave the Gunners on a free transfer to return to former club Corinthians, just one year into a three-year deal.Now, with his eight-year stint in the Premier League nearing its end, Willians name will remain on that list of famous players that snubbed the Reds.And while no tears were shed at Anfield, despite Rodgers initial frustrations, that didnt stop the Brazilian from finding a way to write his name into the Liverpool annals. 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