“I was crying” – Three time Player of the Year speaks about missed opportunity to join Liverpool

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Many deals have fallen apart at the last second for Liverpool over the years, such as Nabil Fekir and Loic Remy, but one star has now spoken about his devastation having missed his opportunity to play for the Premer League club.  

Back in January 2014, the Reds tried to sign Yevhen Konoplyanka but some last-minute complications meant the deal never happened.

The Ukrainian was playing for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in his home country at the time and had a buy-out clause in his contract for £16m and Liverpool were prepared to match it, states the Liverpool Echo.

The winger had already been crowned Ukrainian Football of the Year on three occasions when Liverpool came calling but Dnipro president, Ihor Kolomoyskyi, simply refused to sign off the deal as he didn’t want to lose his star player.

Yevhen Konoplyanka with Dnipro

Speaking to Weszlo, Konoplyanka said about the failed move: “I was crying. A delegation of serious people from Liverpool came to Dnipropetrovsk. We ate dinner. They were (willing) to pay as much as (Dnipro owner) Ihor Kolomoyskyi wanted.

“Martin Skrtel wrote me a message: ‘We are waiting for you’. Steven Gerrard also gave me his blessing. I used to go to Kolomoyskyi: ‘Please, please, please, let me go. It will make my dream come true’. I begged. Liverpool offered 25m euros (£18m). But I didn’t feel disappointed about going to Sevilla (instead).”

Konoplyanka eventually joined Spanish side Sevilla the following summer and was part of their squad that beat Liverpool in 2015-16 UEFA Europa League final.

The Ukrainian never fully reached his potential in the sport and at 33, he now plays for MKS Cracovia in Poland.

How his career would have played out if he moved to Liverpool remains unknown, but it is a moment Konoplyanka was desperate to have back in 2014.

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