10 famous failed Liverpool transfers

#5 Gabriel Heinze

Heinze wanted to become the first player since 1964 to negotiate a move from Man Utd to Liverpool

In 2007, Liverpool had the audacity to attempt to sign a player from their arch-rivals Manchester United. Heinze wanted to leave Manchester United due to lack of playing time and this led to a feud with Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Argentine claimed that he had a letter signed by David Gill, the former chief-executive at Manchester United, stating that the player could leave if any club met his valuation believed to be around £6.8 million.

However, when Liverpool entered the fray, things got out of hand. Man Utd were adamant that the letter only concerned a move abroad and eventually the dispute reached a Premier League tribunal.

The panel decided that the above-mentioned letter from Gill did not constitute a definitive undertaking from Manchester United to let the player leave.

Before the tribunal, Heinze made one last plea to let him leave the club to join Liverpool.

“My idea has not changed and my objective is to go to Liverpool, I will always be grateful to United, but now I hope they allow me to get my wish.”

However, Ferguson was adamant that he wouldn’t be the first player to sanction a direct transfer between Manchester United and Liverpool since Phil Chisnall joined Bill Shankly’s Reds in 1964.

As for Heinze, he got his transfer away from Manchester United by joining Real Madrid.