Pedro Chirivella has revealed he turned down a long-term contract from Liverpool in the summer to join Nantes instead.
The Spanish midfielder departed Anfield on a free transfer after seven years at the club, eventually joining Nantes in Ligue 1.
He initially joined Liverpool in a £2.07m deal from Valencia in 2013 and worked his way up from the U18s to the U23s in the intervening years.
His time at Anfield was not a happy one, though, with him instead spending the last seven years on various loan deals with the likes of Go Ahead Eagles, Willem II and Extremadura.
Indeed, he would make just 11 appearances and 650 minutes for Liverpool’s first team in total, a tally he has already bettered at Nantes.
His departure from Liverpool was treated to little fanfare, but he’s revealed they were very keen to keep hold of him.
“We were in full negotiations with Liverpool, who offered me a fairly long 4-5 year contract and we didn’t know what to do,” he told AS.
“Then Nantes came with an interesting proposal for me and talking to the coach, president… we decided it was the best option, and I came to Nantes in June.
“I know it is a club with a history in France that has done great things and, honestly, I did not expect to go to France.
“I wanted to go back to Spain, and the confinement changed everything. When Nantes came, I didn’t think twice.
“I wanted to leave Liverpool, and I wanted to play. It was a clear proposal with which I did not have much doubt when signing. It was quick.”
As is always the case with youngsters at big clubs like Liverpool, the pressure was on Chirivella from day one.
The Spanish midfielder had the added expectation of being likened to a club legend, though, with some comparing him to former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso.
Alonso, of course, was a huge success at Anfield during his five years there, winning the Champions League, Super Cup and the FA Cup and Community Shield as well as making over 200 appearances.
The prospect of someone taking over his mantle was a tantalising one for Liverpool fans, but Chirivella says it did nothing to help him at the club.
“Those kinds of comparisons are easy,” he added.
“A Spanish midfielder who played for Liverpool was in the lower ranks of the national team… The easy thing is to compare.
“But I don’t like anything like that. Because it is putting pressure on a 17-year-old boy who is very young, and Xabi Alonso had done everything with Liverpool, Real Madrid or the national team.
“It is not something that I focus on, and it gets into my head because I know that there are very few players like that and I was just a young kid who wanted to get to Liverpool.”
