Former Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani has revealed he rejected the chance to move to both Arsenal and Chelsea before reluctantly accepting an offer from Anfield.
The Italian was brought to Merseyside as an attempt to replace the outgoing Xabi Alonso, who was en route to Real Madrid at the time, but his career did not catch light in England.
Now the manager of Fiorentina's under-19 side, Aquilani was once one of the hottest midfield properties in football, drawing comparisons to Italy legend Andrea Pirlo during his time with Roma.
The 37-year-old grew up a fan of the club and admitted in an interview with Liverpool Echo that leaving the Stadio Olimpico never crossed his mind, even when Arsenal and Chelsea came knocking.
“Liverpool was a big change for me,” Aquilani admitted. “I was a player born in Rome. Player for Roma. Supporter of Roma. For me it was very difficult to leave Roma.
“I had had a lot of chances to move from Roma I remember when I was younger. Arsenal and Chelsea gave me big offers but there was never any chance I’d leave Roma.
"When my agent told me Liverpool wanted me, for me it was like the years before with Arsenal, Chelsea, Juventus when Roma never sold me."
However, the move to the Reds went through because of a change in approach from the club in 2009, rather than Aquilani.
“But when my agent told me that Roma wanted to sell me, for me it was different. For me it was impossible to think of changing from Roma to another club, to another country."
Eventually, Rafa Benitez signed the midfielder for £20 million but he arrived with a serious ankle injury, and did not make his debut until November.
He made just 18 appearances in the opening campaign before he tumbled down the pecking order following the arrival of Roy Hodgson for the 2010-11 season.
One of the Italian's final matches for Liverpool came against Chelsea at Anfield in May 2010 as goals from Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba helped secure a 2-0 win en route to the Premier League title.
