Englishman was given the chance to stay at Anfield and fight for his first-team place by Rodgers, but opted not to.
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New Swansea City midfield player Jonjo Shelvey has revealed that he decided to leave Premier League giants Liverpool and sign for the Swans because he just wanted to be playing regular football, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
The England international made the move to the Liberty Stadium in July on a five-year contract, with Swansea head coach Michael Laudrup splashing out £5m to bring the highly rated 21-year-old to South Wales.
And since his arrival in the Principality, Shelvey has been one of Laudrup’s best performers, featuring in three matches in total in all competitions for his new side, two of which came in the Premier League, which is stark contrast to the limited opportunities he found in his time at Anfield.
Shelvey was signed by previous Reds boss Rafa Benitez from League One outfit Charlton Athletic in May 2010 for an initial fee of £1.7m, with the youngster arriving on Merseyside with a glowing reputation.
However, it is fair to say that the playmaker found it hard to win a regular place in the Liverpool midfield under a succession of different managers, including Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish and then lately Brendan Rodgers, with Shelvey scoring two goals in 47 Premier League outings for the Reds.
The two sides are now set to meet in the Premier League this weekend, with Shelvey saying he holds no grudges against Liverpool for his lack of playing time at the club.
“It’s about confidence and knowing you’ll get game time if you do well,” Shelvey said.
“Brendan called me and apologised that he couldn’t give me enough game time, but he didn’t need to apologise. He’s the Liverpool manager.
“It’s a big thing, trying to knock Steven Gerrard out of the team. If you had a really good game the next week you might still be out because the likes of Gerrard are coming back. Imagine that. And you can’t argue with it — it’s crazy how good he is.”
Shelvey added that money is not a big motivation in his career, and he wouldn’t like to be seen as a player happy to sit on the bench and collect his wages.
“Brendan told me I could stay there and see what happened. It really was my choice. I wasn’t pushed.
“But I wanted to play football. I would hate to be one of those sitting on my money. It is in my character, the way I was brought up. Even Brendan said, ‘You’re not one of these squad players happy to stand around’.”