Nine players that almost signed for Liverpool – from Ronaldo to Terry

Liverpool's recruitment strategy under Jurgen Klopp has been a key pillar of their success over the course of the German's reign as manager.

Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane have all been signed by Klopp and starred as the Reds won the Champions League and Premier League in successive seasons. But while these players are now household names, there are several superstars who Liverpool have missed out on.

These botched signings are seen through the Reds' time in the Premier League, missing out on players at the start and at the peak of their careers. Here, Daily Star Sport looks at nine players who almost moved to Anfield.

Gareth Bale

In another universe, Gareth Bale would be helping Liverpool's title challenge, rather than sitting on the bench as Real Madrid march to the La Liga title. According to The Athletic, scouts from the Reds travelled to watch a youth game between Southampton and Bolton during the 2005/2006 season.

While their original target was David McGoldrick, it was Bale who would catch the eye, with his performance leading Liverpool to make a move for him. The Reds offered Southampton Darren Potter in exchange, an offer that was turned down, with the Saints insisting a fee would be needed in addition to the swap.

Rather than Anfield, Bale would move to White Hart Lane and Tottenham the following year. He has since won four Champions League trophies with Los Blancos, though has fallen out of favour at the Bernabeu.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Missed opportunities arguably do not come any bigger than that that saw the Reds miss out on Cristiano Ronaldo. The Reds kept 'close tabs' while he was coming to the fore at Sporting Lisbon, but missed out on him to Manchester United, to the surprise of then-assistant manager Phil Thompson.

“Tony Henry, the former Man City midfielder, was working for (agent) Paul Stretford, who was tasked by Jorge Mendes to drum up interest in England. I was told the fee was £4 million but they explained that it could be paid over the course of a four-year contract so essentially it was £1 million per year," Thompson told The Athletic.

“I explained that I needed to go back to Liverpool and speak to Gerard Houllier and see what we could do. I fed all the information back to Gerard, who said he would speak to [chief executive] Rick Parry. The following week I’m at Melwood when the yellow ticker on Sky Sports News says, ‘Manchester United sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting for £12.2 million.’ I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Tony told me that when he’d got off the plane on the Monday he had got a call to say he was off the deal. It was down to Stretford and Mendes instead. It was astonishing that the fee trebled. He was clearly a big talent but no one could have predicted back then how great he was going to be.”

Sergio Aguero

One of the greatest Premier League strikers of all-time, Aguero could have been firing the Reds to the title in recent years, not Manchester City, if things had turned out differently. He caught the eye of the Reds' scouts under Rafa Benitez after making his breakthrough at Independiente.

With those scouts raving about Aguero's potential talent, Liverpool looked into a move for the Argentine. They were quoted a fee of £16million by the Primera División, despite Aguero only being 17-years-old.

That figure sunk any potential deal though, with that fee representing a 'massive chunk' of the Reds' transfer budget. With Aguero still in his development phase, it was decided a deal could not be sanctioned, with the striker instead joining Atletico Madrid.

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Dani Alves

Dani Alves became a legend at Barcelona, helping them to win 26 trophies in his first spell at the club. But Barca had to fight off competition from Liverpool to sign the right-back, with the Reds having agreed an £8m deal to buy him from Sevilla in 2006.

Despite that agreement being reached, the transfer fell apart after Benitez was told he had to make a choice. Liverpool's hierarchy told the Spaniard that he would have to pick between signing Alves and bringing in a new striker.

Ultimately, Benitez chose the latter option, opting to buy Dirk Kuyt from Feyenoord for £9m instead. Alves stayed at Sevilla for another two seasons, before joining Barca for £30m and cementing his place as a legend at the Nou Camp.

John Terry

Roman Abramovich's decision to buy Chelsea did not only transform the Blues into perennial trophy contenders, it also wrecked Liverpool's move to buy John Terry. The Reds had beaten Chelsea to the Champions League in 2003 and opted to boost their squad with a move for the now legendary defender.

“Chelsea were in financial trouble at the time and John hadn’t signed a new contract. After the game Gerard had a quiet word with John and asked if he’d like to play for Liverpool. The response was positive," Phil Thompson told The Athletic.

“Gerard sent [director of scouting] Alex Miller to get his agent’s details and he came back from the players’ lounge with John’s mobile number. Then a few weeks later Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea and suddenly they had all this money. John and Frank Lampard both got big new contracts.”

Teddy Sheringham

Another sliding doors moment in Liverpool's history came when Roy Evans was blocked from signing Teddy Sheringham. The striker had starred for Tottenham and opted to leave the club in search of major trophies.

Evans wanted to bring the 31-year-old to Anfield, but was denied the move as a result of his age. The former Reds boss told the Athletic: "I thought Teddy would have been ideal for us. Peter Robinson [then-chief executive] spoke to the board and they felt it couldn’t be justified financially because of Teddy’s age.

"They wanted us to buy younger players. It was a shame because Teddy was keen and he was a player I really liked. I think he would have fitted in well but it wasn’t to be. He went on to have many more years at the highest level.”

That proved to be a disastrous decision from Liverpool's hierarchy, with Sheringham instead joining Manchester United. The striker helped the Red Devils to win three Premier League titles and the Champions League, while Liverpool endured several challenging seasons.

Shay Given

With Brendan Rodgers on the lookout for a new keeper to challenge Simon Mignolet, Shay Given quickly rose to the top of his shopping list. But the deal became bogged down, with Aston Villa refusing to sanction a sale.

“It was all completely baffling and frustrating. The reasons why Villa wouldn’t let me go have never been made clear to me. I’m as in the dark about it today as I was then," Given wrote in his autobiography.

"I don’t know if it was my wages that stopped the deal or whether it was the fact Randy Lerner was American, like Liverpool’s owners. Had they had some beef in the past? What I do know is that chances to move to clubs like Liverpool do not come around every day and it remains a massive disappointment that I couldn’t go.”

Thomas Lemar

The summer of 2017 proved to be a successful one for Liverpool, but they did miss out on a key deadline day signing. The Reds were keen to bring in Thomas Lemar from Monaco, with bids of £55m and £64m having been turned down earlier in the window.

Liverpool continued to negotiate and even sent a team to conduct a medical on Lemar. But then Arsenal joined the race for the midfielder, with Monaco's price skyrocketing as a result.

It is stated that the Ligue 1 side named a final price of £90m, an astronomical figure that the Reds were unwilling to pay. Lemar would stay at the Stade Louis II for another year before joining Atletico Madrid for £52m.

Nabil Fekir

A move that broke down in stunning fashion was Liverpool's pursuit of Lyon star Nabil Fekir in 2018. A £53m fee had been agreed between the two clubs, along with a five-year contract for the French international.

Fekir would even conduct a welcome interview with the Reds, posing in a Liverpool shirt. But the deal fell apart at the death in dramatic fashion following his medical.

Concerns were raised about an old knee injury Fekir had suffered, with Liverpool advised that there was a 'high risk' he would rupture his right knee ACL for a second time. As a result, Liverpool pulled the plug on the deal, with Fekir instead joining Real Betis in 2021.

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