'I Was Crying' - Star Winger Begged To Join Liverpool, Even Gerrard Gave His Blessing

Former Sevilla star Yevhen Konoplyanka has admitted he begged Dnipro to let him leave for Liverpool in an £18 million deal during the summer of 2014.

The then 24-year-old had come off the back of an excellent season in the Ukrainian Premier League, having scored 13 goals in 36 appearances. 

This form had sparked interest from a number of clubs throughout Europe, including Liverpool, who made a move to sign the winger.

However, the deal did not come to fruition and he instead joined Spanish side Sevilla a year later, where he played 54 times and netted nine goals.

Speaking to Weszlo, Konoplyanka revealed that he was desperate to move to Anfield and begged Dnipro to let him go.

“I was crying”, he said. “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 25 million euros (£18 million). But I didn’t feel disappointed about going to Sevilla.”

In an ironic twist of fate, Konoplyanka was part of the Sevilla squad who denied Jurgen Klopp his first trophy as Liverpool manager in the 2016 Europa League final.

“For Konopkyanka, whom Liverpool wanted to buy, a specific amount was assigned. The British club fought until the last (minute to sign him),” Dnipro CEO Andriy Stetsenko explained a couple of months ago.

“Then their representatives flew to us on a private jet for the final stage of the negotiations."

"In case of a positive outcome, Konoplyanka was supposed to fly away with them."

“(Liverpool) did not agree with the figure that was asked of them. Perhaps they thought that a private jet would make some impression. That showed the seriousness of their intentions.

“(But Dnipro) did not go for a price reduction. As a result, Liverpool flew away with nothing.”