Former Liverpool midfielder Pedro Chirivella has recalled how he nearly got the Reds disqualified from the League Cup.
Chirivella, 25, left the club in 2020 for Nantes, after making just 11 senior appearances at Anfield.
He has since become a key player for the Ligue 1 side, playing 63 times for the side on the Atlantic Coast.
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In his time on Merseyside, he had spells away in the Eredivisie with Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II, as well as a period in his native Spain for Extremadura.
But all could have been different for Chrivella if things didn’t go his way in a legal situation in September 2019.
The Reds took on MK Dons in a League Cup fixture, and won the game 2-0. Chirivella came on for Naby Keita before the midway point in the second half.
Even a young Harvey Elliott featured, with James Milner and Ki-Jana Hoever on the scoresheet
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In an interview with the Liverpool Echo, Chirivella detailed the issues and how it affected him, including even wanting to leave Liverpool."
“Neil Critchley went serious and called the lawyers from the academy, who told me that I couldn’t play and they didn’t know when I would be able to because there were papers [international clearance] missing."
"He said Liverpool were probably going to be kicked out of the League Cup because of it."
“I remember I went home, my father was there, and I started crying like a kid."
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"I wanted to disappear from the city, go back to Valencia and forget Liverpool."
"The next morning everything came out in the press and on Sky Sports, it was very hard.”
Liverpool managed to escape scot-free, paying a fine of £200,000 - but the personal embarrassment for Chrirvella must have been enough punishment for the then-youngster.
Topics: Liverpool
Chris Stonadge