Craig Bellamy has detailed how close he came to signing for Everton until a bizarre encounter with David Moyes brought a halt to the deal.
The Liverpool fan and former player has revealed he was convinced he was joining their rivals and even agreed terms, before having his hopes dashed in a second meeting with the then Everton boss.
Bellamy, now Vincent Kompany's assistant at Burnley, has opened up on the failed move while appearing on The Central Club podcast, and revealed how Moyes’ approach and attitude towards him in the second meeting the pair had led to him receiving an apology from the Scot a few months later.
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He said: "My agent came to see me and said Blackburn want to sign you and I was like 'I don't want to go to Blackburn'. My heart was set on Everton at the time.
"I went to meet David Moyes and he was brilliant and then I went and met him again in Preston and it was a completely different conversation.
“He had a list of rules and it didn't seem right. He rang me two months later when I signed for Blackburn and said 'sorry, someone got in my head'. So he did apologise and I like him a lot.
"But at that stage my career was at a crossroads and my name was not great. Newcastle were ringing a lot of clubs saying don't touch him and we had to speak to Newcastle to say you can't want to sell someone and then when clubs come in warn them off.”
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