When Emile Heskey made his high-profile move from Leicester City to Liverpool in 2000, the Reds splashed out a then-record £11 million fee — a sum that shocked many at the time. Now, 25 years later, the former England striker has revealed he felt the club paid more than twice his actual value.
Heskey, who went on to make over 200 appearances and net 60 goals for Liverpool, told the Beast Mode On podcast that he personally rated himself at around £5 million when the deal happened.
> “I had nothing to do with the fee — I couldn’t change it,” Heskey explained. “Looking at the market then, I thought I was worth about £5m, but Liverpool paid £11m. It is what it is. I just knew I had to give my all, no matter the price.”
At the time of his transfer, Heskey was one of the Premier League’s most promising young forwards, having risen through the ranks at his boyhood club Leicester. His pace, strength, and work rate had already earned him an England debut in 1999, but he admits the move to Anfield brought a different level of intensity.
“Playing for the national team was a whole new standard,” he recalled. “Club football was serious, but with England, the tempo and physical demand went through the roof. You’d go from just sweating to wringing your shirt dry — every session was about impressing.”
Despite admitting the fee was excessive, Heskey says he didn’t feel pressured by the price tag and was confident in his ability to contribute.
“I wasn’t promised anything at Liverpool,” he said. “But I knew what I could do, and I believed I’d make an impact.”
Heskey left the Reds in 2004 for Birmingham City before later spells with Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa, Newcastle Jets, and Bolton Wanderers, eventually retiring in 2016.
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