‘Not a good move’: Former Liverpool striker now admits he was warned against moving to Anfield

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Former Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy has admitted that he was warned not to join the Reds by a former manager.

Bellamy eventually had two spells at Anfield during his career, the first coming after a move from Blackburn Rovers in 2006.

Having scored 13 Premier League goals in the 2005/06 season, the Welshman was hot property that summer. A boyhood Liverpool fan, his head was turned by the Reds, and Bellamy signed for £6m.

But according to the man himself, the transfer was not a popular one with everyone. Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap yesterday, Bellamy admitted that then Blackburn boss Mark Hughes warned him that Liverpool’s style wouldn’t suit him.

“[I had a] Liverpool poster on my bedroom wall every single year,” said the 44-year-old. “That poster you got from Toys R Us? Yeah, that was there. To get the privilege of being able to play for them was like ‘I have to do this’, even though I was very happy at Blackburn at the time.

“So I spoke to Mark Hughes who was not that happy for me. I thought he would be. But he said something that was very interesting; ‘I know who you are, I know how Liverpool play and I know this is not a good move for you’. He said ‘you’re not going to enjoy it.’ [And] I really didn’t – very rigid.”

Bellamy admits Liverpool warning

In the end, Hughes’ warning proved to be fairly prescient. Bellamy would spend just one season at Liverpool, before departing for West Ham United.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad season for the former Wales international. He wasn’t always a starter under Rafa Benitez, but still managed 41 appearances in all competitions as Liverpool reached the Champions League final.

Bellamy scored nine times in that first spell, including an infamous goal at the Camp Nou against Barcelona.

Nevertheless, he clearly wasn’t happy with Benitez’s pragmatic style of football and left in a £7.5m deal with the Hammers.

Somewhat remarkably, Bellamy did return to Anfield five years later, again spending just one year at the club.

By then, Kenny Dalglish was back in charge, and ‘Bellers’ seemed to enjoy his second stint a little more.

He did play slightly less – featuring 36 times – but scored nine times once again. Bellamy also ended his time at Liverpool with a winners medal, coming off the bench in the League Cup final in 2012.

Still, there will always be a little bit of a sense of ‘what might have been’ for Bellamy at Anfield. He did fairly well generally, but if he’d have been able to come to terms with a squad role, could have been even better.

However it went, we’re still glad he ignored Hughes and fulfilled a boyhood dream all those years ago.