Signed by Venezia this summer from Bayer Leverkusen for £2.25m, Joel Pohjanpalo has so far scored one goal and picked up two assists for the Serie B side.
The player arrived in Germany back in 2013 from HJK Helsinki, but only ever made 28 appearances in all competitions for the Bundesliga side, scoring eight goals.
His career, however, could have been very different, as he revealed in an interview that he could have signed for Liverpool, who offered him a contract.
This came around the same time Bayer Leverkusen came forward, which was after he scored a hat trick in 2 minutes and 42 seconds for Helsinki in a 3-1 win over IFK Mariehamn on the 15th of April 2012.
He told Gianluca Di Marzio that he might not be where he is were it not for that performance, which caught the eye of Liverpool.
He said: “Many teams from all over Europe wanted me: Lyon, Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen…”
That’s when he had to make a decision despite being a massive fan of the Reds, with his idol being a certain Michael Owen, but he ultimately opted for Bayer over the Anfield side for one specific reason.
He explained: “In England, they offered me a contract for youth teams, and not a professional one. I also wanted to help my club financially, as there isn’t too much money in football in Finland, even today. Leverkusen paid about €1.5m, which is a sum that would cover the squad’s entire wages for a year.”
Whether his life would be different had he chosen Liverpool instead, we’ll never know, but he did the best thing for his childhood club, and still managed to have a decent career out of it.
Either way, he doesn’t seem to regret his decision in the slightest.
