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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mark Jones

What happened to the 8 Liverpool players sold by Roy Hodgson ahead of Anfield return

Plenty has been said and written about Roy Hodgson's ill-fated six months at Liverpool almost ever since it came to an end in early 2011.

In truth both the club and the manager will barely give the period a thought on a day-to-day basis any more, and Hodgson's gentle reception when he returned to Anfield with Crystal Palace on the final day of last season suggested that plenty of water has passed under bridge.

Of course everyone thought that game, a 2-0 Reds win courtesy of a Sadio Mane double which secured Champions League qualification, was going to be Hodgson's last in football management, but he couldn't resist the call from Watford when it came in January.

Hodgson's spell on Merseyside proved to be ill-fated (Getty Images)

And so, once again, Hodgson will return to an old stomping ground when Premier League action resumes with a meeting of the title challengers and relegation battlers on Saturday lunchtime.

Hodgson's rather disappointing Reds spell is sure to be revisited too, and a look at the players who the former England boss sold during his time on Merseyside shows just what a time of fluctuation it was.

From household names to players who barely register on the radar of Reds fans, here's what happened to the eight players Hodgson let go.

Fees taken from LFCHistory.net

Albert Riera - £3.3million to Olympiakos

A former favourite of Rafael Benitez, the Spanish winger faded from the team in what proved to be his compatriot's final season in 2009-10.

Riera featured just 16 times across all competitions in that campaign, and rarely from the start, and so by the time Hodgson arrived his departure did begin to look inevitable.

With Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic both added to the squad on free transfers, Riera was allowed to join Greek side Olympiakos for less than half of the £8m the Reds paid for him two years earlier.

The latter stages of his career also included spells at Galatasaray, Watford, Udinese and Mallorca.

Diego Cavalieri - £3million to Cesena

The Brazilian made 10 appearances for the Reds (Getty Images)

Cavalieri actually started Hodgson's first game in charge against Macedonian side FK Rabotnicki in the Europa League qualifying rounds, but a few weeks later he was gone.

In truth he was never going to displace Pepe Reina as Reds No.1, and it was high time that the talented stopper moved on in search of regular game-time.

It proved to be the right decision, and after a brief spell in Italy he established himself in his homeland of Brazil, winning three international caps and starring with Fluminense and Botafogo, via a brief spell back with Hodgson at Crystal Palace.

He retired from football last year.

Krisztian Nemeth - £1million to Olympiakos

The Hungarian youngster had been highly rated during spells in the youth teams on Merseyside but it never happened for him in the first-team set-up.

After a loan at Blackpool he left for a nomadic but successful career that has included spells in Greece, the Netherlands, the US, Qatar, Slovakia and his native Hungary, for whom he has won 37 caps.

Javier Mascherano - £17.25million to Barcelona

Mascherano was a huge favourite with the Reds fans (Getty Images)

The most high-profile of the departures, the hugely popular Mascherano left under a cloud after he seemingly refused to play in a match against Manchester City in an attempt to force through his move.

Hodgson wasn't happy with the situation, but the Argentinean has since insisted that the club broke a promise to him as they sought to deny him his switch to Catalonia.

“On one side I honestly do [regret the way it ended], as Liverpool fans weren’t happy with me at all and I completely understood why,” Mascherano told Four Four Two last year.

“On the other hand, the board at the time had promised me something and weren’t keeping their word.

“There was an agreement between us that if Liverpool received a decent offer for me, I’d be permitted to leave. We’d spoken about extending my contract, but it seemed like the directors didn’t care about me.

“In the pre-season after Rafa left, Roy Hodgson arrived. We had a meeting with the managing director, Christian Purslow, who told me I could go if a good offer came in. Then there was an offer on the table, but Liverpool were looking the other way."

Five La Liga titles, five Copa Del Rey trophies and two Champions Leagues later, you can see why he wanted to go.

Lauri Dalla Valle - £750,000 to Fulham

The Finnish forward was highly-rated at Anfield, but Hodgson was willing to send him to former club Fulham as part of a deal to bring Paul Konchesky up north.

It never quite worked out for him at Craven Cottage either, and he ended up heading down the leagues with Bournemouth, Dundee United, Exeter and Crewe.

He stepped away from football in 2018 to take up a new career in photography and consultancy.

Alex Kacaniklic - £750,000 to Fulham

Kacaniklic (left) played 100 games for Fulham (Andrew Powell)

The other part of the Konchesky deal, Swedish youngster Kacaniklic would have a more successful time at Fulham, playing 100 games for the club as well as going on loan to Watford and Burnley.

After spells in France with Nantes and back home with Hammarby, the 21-times capped winger, now 30 years old, is currently in Croatia with Hajduk Split.

Damien Plessis - Undisclosed to Panathinaikos

Damien Plessis had broken into the team under Rafa Benitez (Getty)

The French youngster had threatened to be the next big thing at Anfield after breaking into the team under Rafa Benitez, impressing in central midfield in a Premier League game at Anfield and scoring in a League Cup loss at Tottenham.

Things soon tailed off though, and he left for Greece after just eight senior appearances, later popping up at Doncaster as well as in Portugal and Sweden.

Charles Itandje - Free to Atromitos

The Cameroon international played seven times in cup competitions for the Reds (AFP/Getty)

An infamously poor backup goalkeeper, Itandje would leave Liverpool just days before Hodgson in January 2011, although in truth his Reds career was over long before then.

The Cameroon international played seven games in cup competitions in the 2007-08 season, during which he conceded twice at home to non-league Havant & Waterlooville and was at fault for a late Barnsley winner in front of the Kop.

He departed for Greek football and would later move onto Turkey.

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