Joining Liverpool is often a dream come true for most players, but one former Premier League champion has admitted he has regrets over moving to Anfield
The most successful club in English football history has recently reclaimed their status as a consistent title challenger. Jurgen Klopp ended the Merseyside giants’ 30-year wait for league glory back in 2020, and they have regularly been in the race since.
Arne Slot took the Reds to the title in his debut season, and that triumph led to record-breaking transfer business in the summer. The British transfer record was broken twice at Anfield, with Florian Wirtz (£116 million) turning down Bayern Munich and Alexander Isak (£125 million) downing tools at Newcastle United to secure his move.
They were two of Europe’s most sought-after talents, and it was the Merseysiders who secured their signatures. But attracting such talent wasn’t so easy in the 2010s and one of those who did join wouldn’t have done so if given the chance.
Joe Cole Makes Shock Admission Over Liverpool Spell
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Liverpool didn’t spend a single penny when signing Joe Cole back in the 2010 summer transfer window as the English attacking midfielder arrived on a free transfer. He was 28 at the time and coming off seven years at Chelsea, where he won the Premier League title three times.
Cole joined Roy Hodgson’s Reds, who were floundering outside the top four and had finished the 2009-10 season in seventh place. His acquisition was an exciting one because of his impressive exploits at Stamford Bridge.
But constant injuries and a lack of form took hold, and it didn’t take long for Hodgson and his staff to grow impatient. He was loaned out to French outfit LOSC Lille the following summer.
Cole has reflected on his decision to join the Merseyside club and, in hindsight, would have preferred to go abroad. He told The Boot Room:
“I think if I’d have had my time again, I’d have probably gone and this isn’t disrespectful to Liverpool, I’d have probably gone abroad somewhere and tried that, because I loved it.”
Cole bounced back while out on loan at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy and registered nine goals and six assists in 46 games across competitions. He linked up with Eden Hazard, who later moved to Chelsea and starred in a similar way to the Englishman.
The former 56-cap England international continued to assess his Anfield spell:
“I loved that experience when I did do it. But it was a difficult time for the club and I genuinely, I was excited about joining.”
Cole left Liverpool permanently in early 2013, returning to his boyhood club, West Ham United. He later had spells at Aston Villa and Coventry City before retiring in the United States with Tampa Bay Rowdies in December 2018.
Joe Cole’s Lacklustre Liverpool Spell
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If ever there was a sign of what was to come for Cole at Liverpool, it was no more apparent than his league debut for the Reds. He was sent off against Arsenal and received a three-game suspension.
When the London-born attacker, once hailed by Pele as possessing ‘skills of a Brazilian’, returned to action, he failed to live up to expectations due to a lack of form and constant injury troubles. He managed just two goals and one assist in 20 league games during that season.
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Cole’s brief return to the club after his loan at Lille saw him play a bit-part role, resulting in just six league appearances in the 2012-13 campaign. He looked like a man reborn out in France, but couldn’t replicate this back at Anfield, and, as a result, departed to West Ham at the start of 2013
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