Steven Gerrard has admitted his disbelief at Liverpool’s infamous decision to sign El Hadji Diouf in place of Nicolas Anelka in 2002.
It’s a decision that remains one of the club’s biggest transfer regrets. Nicolas Anelka spent a season on loan with the Reds, impressing Steven Gerrard and his teammates.
However, the £13million permanent move fell through after the club turned their attention to the World Cup-performing Senegalese striker.
Steven Gerrard criticizes Liverpool for not signing Nicolas Anelka
He came on the latest episode of the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, discussing various topics.
Gerrard has opened up on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s controversial move to Madrid. He also spoke about the club’s decision not to sign Anelka, describing it as a classic case of a club getting it badly wrong when it comes to recruitment, opting for a striker based on a short period of international form rather than a proven long-term pedigree.
Gerrard recalls: “We sometimes made mistakes when it came to recruitment. I’ll give you an example, we were lucky to sign Nicolas Anelka or El Hadj Diouf, and we bought Diouf after four or five World Cup games instead of someone after five or six years.”
Gerrard highlighted Anelka’s aura during training as proof of his quality: “Anelka came into our training sessions, he was the coolest man ever, calm, relaxed, you just knew he had aura and confidence, he was ready to win.
“Anelka was coming and he was head and shoulders above everyone else, but then this decision was made and I couldn’t believe what was happening.”
The decision would continue to haunt Liverpool, as Diouf failed to live up to expectations on and off the pitch, while Anelka enjoyed a successful Premier League career elsewhere.
Nicolas Anelka’s superb Premier League career at top clubs
Nicolas Anelka’s career in the Premier League speaks for itself. After bursting onto the scene with Arsenal, where he scored 23 goals in 65 league appearances, he went on to represent Liverpool (on loan), Manchester City and Chelsea, among others.
At Manchester City, Anelka scored 37 goals in 89 appearances, establishing himself as one of the most consistent strikers in the league.
| Club | Appearances | Goals | Aids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 184 | 59 | 27 |
| Manchester City | 103 | 45 | 8 |
| Arsenal | 90 | 28 | 14 |
| Liverpool | 22 | 5 | 3 |
During his time at Chelsea, he scored 38 goals in 125 matches, winning both the Premier League title (2009-10) and the Golden Boot (2008-09).
During his Premier League career, Anelka scored 125 goals in 364 matches, ranking among the top French scorers in the history of English football, a tally which underlines just how costly Liverpool’s 2002 move proved to be.
