Liverpool have made some very good signings in the past, but their success rate hasn’t been as high as they wanted it to be.
For example, the likes of Lazar Markovic and Mario Balotelli never really impressed as they should have done, and gambles on older players haven’t really paid off either.
However, only ever making 28 appearances for the club, the midfielder spent most of his time at the Merseyside club on loan to Italian teams such as Juventus and AC Milan.
It never really clicked, injuries were an issue, and he was sold three years later to Fiorentina for a tenth of the price (£1.7m).
Now at Pescara, the former Liverpool player spoke about his time in England to Gazzetta dello Sport.
He said: “In Liverpool, I was fine. I’ve had the honour to wear a special jersey and play at a crazy stadium. Then I decided to go away, perhaps too hastily. Maybe I should have waited and continued in the Premier League.
“However, I wanted to go back to Italy, for family reasons. Nobody kicked me out from the Reds.”
Adapting to a new country certainly isn’t easy, and if, on top of that, family reasons arise, there’s not a lot you can do.
