This is probably one of the most obvious transfers that we should have done, and its annoying to think about what he could have brought to the side compared to that cunt we signed instead.
Sigh...
[bcolor=transparent]It remains one of Liverpool’s biggest transfer regrets of the Premier League era, though maybe one that doesn’t sting quite as much now Jurgen Klopp’s side have won the title.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]For 18 years, Reds fans have rued the club’s failure to sign Nicolas Anelka on a permanent basis following an impressive half-season loan at Anfield.[/bcolor]
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[bcolor=transparent]Joining from Paris Saint-Germain in December 2001, the striker scored five goals in 22 appearances for the [bcolor=transparent]Liverpool[/bcolor] and even though his time on Merseyside was brief, his impact was certainly felt.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]Such despair at not signing the Frenchman was only heightened by the debacle that was El Hadji Diouf’s Liverpool career, with Gerard Houllier turning to the Senegal international in place of his compatriot and seeing a runners-up finish transform into missing out on Champions League football altogether in the space of year.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]Had Anelka signed instead of Diouf, who knows? Maybe Kopites wouldn’t have had to wait 30-years to see their side crowned champions of England.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]And Reds fans aren’t the only ones who wish things had turned out differently.[/bcolor]
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[bcolor=transparent]“This is my biggest regret as well because I knew it was the perfect match,” Anelka admitted in an exclusive interview with [bcolor=transparent]the ECHO[/bcolor]. “Everything was perfect! I loved everything about the club.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“I had an amazing relationship with the fans. I loved them and I think it was reciprocal.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“Looking back, I am proud to have worn the jersey of this legendary club and to have known this stadium and these amazing fans.”[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]The 41-year-old played for 12 different teams during his senior career, and even though his spell at Liverpool was one of the shortest, his affection for his former club is clear. [/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]Which begs the question: why didn’t he sign permanently for the Reds?[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent][bcolor=transparent][bcolor=transparent]Pre-order your copy of the Liverpool ECHO with all the best pictures, news and comment when the Reds lift the trophy [bcolor=transparent]here[/bcolor][/bcolor][/bcolor][/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]And Anelka has his own answer to a puzzle that has bugged fans for the best part of two decades.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“It’s simple: it didn’t happen because Gerard Houllier wanted to pay a lower salary,” he reveals. “It’s acceptable but you have to say it.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“I wanted to sign from the first minute. Of course a permanent move was discussed from the first day I joined the club.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“If you look at the first time they introduced me in the press conference, I said if I could sign now, I would but Gerard Houllier wanted a loan because he was not sure. [/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“In the middle of March, we were in negotiations to sign. PSG shareholder Alain Cayzac said to me Gerard told him that Liverpool would sign me.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“Later on Gerard told me face to face he’d sign me permanently.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]"In the middle of April we reached an agreement about the salary, which had stalled things a little, but I was expecting to sign my contract when the league was over but there was no news from PSG and no news from Liverpool.”[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]So how does Anelka say he found out that Liverpool had decided against signing him permanently?[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]He claims: “I heard on the news that Gerard Houllier was after another player so that’s how I knew they were not going to sign me!”[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]Former Liverpool assistant manager Phil Thompson, who was serving as interim manager when Anelka joined the club as Houllier recovered from a heart problem, years later said the reason the Reds decided against signing the Frenchman was because his representatives had tried to engineer a move back to former club Arsenal.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“Nicolas would have upset the football club. Nicolas is a nice guy, but he's moody. He doesn't mix,” Thompson explained to [bcolor=transparent]LFCHistory[/bcolor].[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“There weren't any great problems while he was there, but we had problems with his brothers, his contract and everything.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“Arsene Wenger rang up Gerard and said: 'Gerard, I have to tell you. Nicolas' brothers have just rang me up and they've asked me to take Nicolas back to Arsenal.'[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“Once his brothers tried to sell Nicolas to Arsenal while he was on loan at us, that was the end.”[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]ut Anelka has sought to dismiss that account.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“I heard about this Arsenal story,” he said. “If it was true, why didn’t I sign for Arsenal when Liverpool announced in the press they weren’t going to sign me?[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“And even if it was true, it’s a normal situation. It’s like I’m saying I don’t wanna sign for a club because they are speaking with another striker. It makes no sense.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“The reality is at the time it was very easy to point the finger at me with my reputation.”[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]Despite Thompson’s claim that Anelka was not a good fit at Anfield, the striker enjoyed his time under the Liverpool legend and believes he would have signed permanently had the Scouser remained in charge.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“I loved my time with Phil Thompson, more so than Gerard Houllier,” he said. “Phil Thompson was a typical Scouser. Direct and straight.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“He’ll tell you what he likes and when he doesn’t like it, you would know. This is exactly what I want and what I like from people. Houiller is the opposite.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“I know if Phil was the manager I would have signed and stayed many years but fate chose otherwise and I had to take another path to find a big club.”[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]With a move to Liverpool off the table, Anelka ended up signing for newly-promoted Manchester City in a then club-record £13m deal.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]As the Reds failed to mount a title challenge despite a promising start to the campaign, with Diouf scoring just three times all season as Liverpool dropped down the table, the former France international scored an impressive 14 goals to guide Kevin Keegan’s side to a respectable ninth-place finish.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]Despite the forward's contrasting fortunes, Houllier insisted he had no regrets about his decision when [bcolor=transparent]speaking in January 2003[/bcolor].[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]"I am not surprised he is doing well and I am pleased for him," the Frenchman said of his former striker. "He has previous experience of playing in the Premiership.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]"We made a choice, that's all and I have no regrets about not taking up the option. I never look back, only forward."[/bcolor]
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[bcolor=transparent]Anelka too chose to look forward.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]Returning to Anfield for the first time in the penultimate game of the season, he ended up scoring a brace, including a last-minute winner to leave his former side’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League hanging by a thread.[/bcolor]
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[bcolor=#fdfbf8]And while he took no pleasure in Diouf, a player he’d later play alongside at Bolton Wanderers, or Liverpool’s struggles, he admits he saw the reunion as an opportunity to make a point to his former manager.[/bcolor]
[/bcolor][bcolor=transparent]“I was focused on my performances at City and I don’t wish people to fail so I had turned the page,” Anelka reflects. “But when I came back in Anfield and I scored this two goals it was just justice against Gerard Houllier.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“Not for Liverpool because of course I love the club, but you know what we say.[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent]“'What goes around comes around'.”[/bcolor]
[bcolor=transparent][bcolor=#fdfbf8]https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spo...ka-reveals-perfect-18617228[/bcolor][/bcolor]
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