"The transfer of Sissoko to Everton is practically finalised. There are only some small details to resolve and then the medical of the player,” Jose Segui, the agent of Valencia midfielder Momo, told the press. “Liverpool and Benitez have asked about the player's situation in the past, but have not made a proposition.”
Everton had got their man in a £3.5million switch and beaten their fierce local rivals to his signature. Or so it seemed. Soon after Liverpool hijacked the deal for £5.6m and the Mali international was grinning widely with Benitez at Melwood having reunited with his former Valencia boss to join the Reds.
It was in the summer of 2005 that the Toffees were gazumped by their current manager. David Moyes and Everton had the potential of Champions League football to offer with a qualifier against Villarreal coming up after finishing in the top four. So, too, did Liverpool, having won the European Cup in the same campaign after pulling off that incredible comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul.
Liverpool eventually paid more to secure Sissoko’s services, but it was perhaps Sissoko’s relationship with his former boss at the Mestalla which swung it though. Benitez had signed the gangly teenager from Auxerre in 2003, playing him 21 times in La Liga before moving again to snap up the 19-year-old, compared to Patrick Vieira, and bring him to Anfield
When the Merseyside derby came around at Goodison Park on December 28, Everton were out of Europe and struggling in the Premier League while Sissoko was shining in the Liverpool midfield alongside Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso, leaving Moyes to lament missing out on the exciting and energetic talent.
"I felt it was a deal which we were very close to completing and we were disappointed not to sign him," said the Scot. "We were completing it for a lot less than Liverpool actually paid for him. I met the boy in Amsterdam and I thought we had a chance but, in the end, I suppose it was a bit like getting gazumped when you're buying a house.
“It's gone now. He had those qualities we were looking for, but we were in for a lot of players in the summer. For different reasons, some we got and some we didn't."
While Moyes left Everton’s training camp in Austria to meet the player in Holland, Benitez had been described as a mentor to young Sissoko. The Malian, previously a striker, scored 50 goals in two seasons for Auxerre’s youth side before Benitez utilised his qualities in midfield to help Valencia win the La Liga title and UEFA Cup.
"We were playing St Gallen in a pre-season friendly just after we signed Momo and we changed all the players for the second half, but one of them picked up an injury and we asked whether we could put Momo on again to make up the numbers," recalled Benítez, speaking to The Guardian. "He played the first half as a second striker, but we used him in midfield for the second and it was incredible. You cannot believe how much stamina he has. He runs and runs, averaging more than 11km or 12km every game, and he gives us power in the middle.
"I like to sign hungry players and, with time, he can be much better than Patrick Vieira, but I don't want to put Momo under pressure. He is improving every day. We knew Everton were trying to sign him but, once we knew he was available, it was easy for us. He has become so important for the team already - when we talk about clean sheets, if you have Sissoko in front of you running all the time, where you would have had to deal with ten balls, now you only have four coming through. It also means that Gerrard or Xabi can think more offensively. Momo is a different kind of player to what we had."
Sissoko would go on to win the FA Cup with the Reds in 2006 as well as the UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield. After three years with Liverpool, he appeared for Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain before a nomadic career in his thirties joining clubs in China, India and Mexico.
For Everton, the Sissoko episode was a case of ‘what might have been’. Now, though, sixteen years later, Benitez’s transfer antics could bode well.
Having already put together a detailed audit of the current Blues squad, he is a manager who knows what profile of player he wants and, most importantly, gets them.
What is key also, is the’s Spaniard’s ability to identify a player’s best qualities and mould them into something new. In Sissoko, this was a potential goal machine. However, Benitez realised his attributes would be better served sitting in front of a back four, allowing others to attack and thrive.
Working closely with Director of Football Marcel Brands, this nous, knowhow and ability to shape younger players, could potentially save Everton millions.
Sissoko described Benitez as a father figure in a 2019 interview with RMC Sport and said, "It was him who gave me the opportunity in Valencia, at 17 years old, to be able to express myself in La Liga and win titles.
“He's a second dad. I owe a lot to Rafa.”
If the new Everton boss can cultivate similar relationships at Finch Farm, he will have a team eager to learn and ready to go to battle for him.
The Sissoko saga of 2005 irked Moyes but could tell us a lot about Benitez’s ability to build a successful Everton in 2021.
