5 players Liverpool should never have sold

Liverpool have had a number of glorious players play for them over the years, however, there are some players whom the club regret selling. These players had the potential to offer much more, but their journey with Liverpool was cut short, either because of the manager’s arrogance or an unbelievable offer coming in from another club.

One of the most successful clubs in history, Liverpool have struggled to win major trophies in the recent past. While the future looks bright and positive under new manager Jurgen Klopp, the Anfield based club might well still rue these disastrous decisions.

Who knows, if these 5 players were not sold, Liverpool might have been much more successful than they are now.

#5 Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres shocked the world and Liverpool fans in particular when he made a deadline day move to Premier League rivals Chelsea. The 2010-11 season was a season of turmoil for Liverpool. Roy Hodgson had just been sacked, and Liverpool were struggling to get results in the Premier League under club legend Kenny Dalglish.

The season went from bad to worse when crowd favourite Fernando Torres handed in a transfer request. Many Liverpool fans felt betrayed as the Spaniard had previously spoken about Liverpool being the only Premier League club he will play for.

The shock of letting Torres go was softened by the fact that Liverpool secured the services of Luis Suarez from Ajax. While many Liverpool fans believe that the decision to sell Torres in January 2011 was the right one, the possible partnership of Torres and Suarez at Anfield would have definitely left opposition defences shaking in their boots. Here is the video showing how devastating Fernando Torres was at Liverpool:

#4 Luis Suarez

Gerrard named Suarez as the best player he has ever played with

Probably the best number 9 in the world right now, Luis Suarez almost singlehandedly won Liverpool the Premier League in the 2013/14 season. The Barcelona forward was easily the best player in the Liverpool squad for close to 3 years and his loss from the Liverpool squad arguably cost Brendan Rodgers his job.

The maverick Uruguayan was sold after his unfortunate biting incident with Chiellini in the World Cup, but the Merseyside club should have done everything in their power to hold on to their superstar.

To be fair to Liverpool, it was tough to hold on to Suarez when Barcelona came calling, and now Liverpool fans can only think wistfully of what could have been had Suarez stayed at Merseyside. The Uruguayan’s dream move to Spain has been a spectacular success and he has gone on to cement his legacy as one of the best players of this generation.

Luis Suarez. Wow:

#3 Javier Mascherano

Liverpool have missed Mascherano’s grit, resolve and leadership skills

Mascherano, Alonso, Gerrard. What a midfield Liverpool had! However, first Alonso went and then Mascherano and Liverpool struggled to find solidity and quality in their midfield.

A defensive midfielder par excellence, Mascherano was and is still extremely skilled at reading the play, breaking up attacks and picking out the right pass. A tenacious player and a leader on the pitch, Liverpool have really missed the services of the gritty Argentine midfielder.

Mascherano’s spell at Liverpool from 2007-2010 saw the Merseyside giants play some of their best football and emerge as one of the best teams in the Premier League. However, the lure of playing at Barcelona proved to be too strong for Mascherano and the Argentine midfielder has gone on to become one of the mainstays at Camp Nou. The Barcelona player recently revealed in an interview to The Guardian as to why he left Liverpool:

“When Rafa went, they knew I’d leave. I felt the project was falling apart. Rafa had gone, there was no direction.

“I was sad that I had to go the way I did. What happened is what had to happen.

"They promised me that if there was a good offer they’d release me because the club was in a process of disintegration."

Now mainly playing as a centre-back at Barcelona, Mascherano’s versatility, leadership skills and determination have been sorely missed by the Merseyside giants.

#2 Raheem Sterling

Sterling has had a phenomenal start to the 2016/17 season

Raheem Sterling’s inclusion in this list might surprise a lot of Liverpool fans, but watching his performances with Manchester City this season, Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp might still be shaking their heads in disbelief as to how they let the talented winger go. When Manchester City came calling with a lot of money, Sterling’s head was turned, however, the Merseyside giants should have probably dug in their heels more.

Capable of running at pace, dribbling past opponents with ease and tormenting opposition defenders, Sterling has shown immense potential in his brief career so far. Jurgen Klopp himself was in disbelief that Liverpool had sold him, famously saying:

“What was the number for Sterling? £80million? Only £49m!”

Sterling would have fitted in perfectly at Klopp’s Liverpool and a forward line of Coutinho, Mane, Firmino and Sterling would have absolutely terrorised defences in the Premier League. Only time will tell how much Liverpool will regret selling Sterling, but if the early performances are anything to go by, the Merseyside giants are going to rue selling the talented English winger.

#1 Xabi Alonso

The dream midfield partnership

Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League trophy in 2005, FA cup in 2006 and then the Community Shield. They reached the finals of the Champions League in 2007 and finished second in the Premier League in 2008-09.

After that, Xabi Alonso was sold to Real Madrid and Liverpool since then have struggled to find an apt replacement for the amazing Spaniard. His supposed replacement Alberto Aquilani never had the same quality and had recurring injury problems. Suddenly the defence lacked cover and looked shaky. Lucas Leiva improved , but he was never in the same mould as Alonso.

Rafa Benitez might have given Liverpool their greatest victory in 2005, but he also made the greatest mistake in Liverpool’s Premier League era, when he decided to sell Xabi Alonso. Steven Gerrard blasted Benitez in his autobiography, My Story saying:

"It was a disastrous decision to sell Alonso, and especially for just £30million — which looks a snip now when you reflect on all he has achieved subsequently, both at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and with Spain, winning the Euros and the World Cup.

"I blame Rafa entirely for the loss of Alonso. He could still have been playing for Liverpool six or seven years after he left in 2009."

This could well be the most disastrous sale in Liverpool’s history. Here is a video showing Alonso’s spectacular passing range in an early match under Benitez.

So there you have it. Imagine a team having the midfield of Alonso, Gerrard and Mascherano along with the front-three of Torres, Suarez and Sterling, a frightening proposition for any opposition team.

If these players had never been sold, Liverpool could well have won multiple Premier League titles.

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