A Ballon d’Or nominated striker admits he held talks with Liverpool. It’s the one club he wishes he’d said yes to.
Antonio Di Natale is one of the most interesting players of the last 15 years. The Italian spent his developmental years in Serie C and Serie B, not making an appearance in Serie A until he was nearly 25.
That debut campaign did bring about 14 goals but he followed it up with just five as Empoli were relegated in 2004. A move to Udinese wasn’t all that notable and Di Natale scored just 15 Serie A goals in his first two years at the club.
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2006/07 saw an improvement – 11 goals – but it wasn’t until 2007/08 that Di Natale really made a name for himself. Now 30, he scored 17 times in Serie A and suddenly looked like one of the world’s best forwards.
Liverpool certainly saw it that way. The Reds went and signed Andrea Dossena from Udinese that summer and actually talked to Di Natale, too. Ultimately, though, they signed Robbe Keane from Tottenham Hotspur instead – a failed transfer that saw him sold right back to them six months later.
Di Natale appears to regret that, admitting in an interview with Sportweek magazine (per the Daily Star) that Liverpool are the only other club he wishes he’d played for.
“When Andrea Dossena signed in 2008, Liverpool spoke with me, but it all came to nothing,” says Di Natale. “Udinese taught me work ethic and respect.
“The only other team I would have loved to play for, for the atmosphere and the stadium, is Liverpool.”
Liverpool wanted Di Natale
Well, if Di Natale regrets it, so do Liverpool. The failed Keane signing essentially cost them the title that year and left the Reds without a solid backup to Fernando Torres over the next few years.
And while Di Natale only bagged 12 goals the season after the talks, he’d score 29, 28, 23 and 23. The Italian was an absolute sensation in his 30s and one of the greatest goalscorers in that age bracket ever.
He even picked up a Ballon d’Or nomination in 2014 – at the age of 37. Truly remarkable and absolutely a player Liverpool would have been lucky to have in those years.
But it wasn’t to be.
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