Liverpool vs West Ham - Premier League Match Preview
The legendary winger, who spent nine years in the Reds’ senior side, eventually left to pursue Champions League football with Real Madrid.
A number of top European clubs showed interest in signing McManaman at the time, but the La Liga giants earned his signature.
However, Liverpool were not beaten in the battle to keep him by money.
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Steve McManaman scored a total of 66 goals for Liverpool in his successful Anfield career
It wasn’t financial, because the money Liverpool offered me to stay was virtually on a par - I wanted to leave
Steve McManaman
The Reds failed to qualify for the Champions League once while the ex-Man City attacker was at Anfield, and McManaman ended up losing patience.
“It wasn’t financial, because the money Liverpool offered me to stay was virtually on a par - I wanted to leave,” McManaman said on Graham Hunter’s Big Interview podcast.
“At that time I had never played in the Champions League, which was a huge thing. I was playing really good football and I needed to test myself. I felt that I needed to go.
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Steve McManaman won the Champions League twice with Real Madrid in four years at the Bernabeu
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“I wanted to go abroad, I didn’t want to play for somebody against Liverpool. I was playing good football and I had the right kind of clubs interested in me – Barcelona, Madrid and Juventus.
“I nearly went to Italy. I was taking Italian lessons that year, I’d spoken to Ian Rush and David Platt. But December/January came around, and Madrid were interested.
“They were European Champions, World Champions, they were the best team in the world. That white kit, Di Stefano, Puskas, all that. And so it was Madrid.
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Current Liverpool winger Sadio Mane is expected to be fit to face West Ham on Sunday
“At Liverpool, especially towards the end of my career there, I always felt that the onus was on me to make things happen. Whereas at Madrid, we had seven players who could do that!”
Liverpool’s current wingers Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane are set to play a major role in the team’s push for another return to Champions League football.
Jurgen Klopp's Reds sit third in the Premier League table ahead of their clash with struggling West Ham at Anfield on Sunday (4.30pm).