‘Wish I had stayed’… 39-year-old admits he made a big mistake by leaving Liverpool

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Former Liverpool defender Daniel Agger has expressed his regret at the timing of his Anfield exit.

Agger was a top player for the Reds for almost 10 years. But by the time he left Liverpool in 2014, injuries had taken a real toll on him.

Despite playing 232 times and being named club vice-captain, the Dane was no longer an automatic starter for Brendan Rodgers at centre-back. As a result, Agger surprisingly headed back home to play for former club Brondby.

Just 29 at the time, the move came as a bit of a shock. And speaking to The Athletic today, the 39-year-old admitted that the decision had ultimately been a mistake.

“I only did it because I was p_____ (off),” says Agger. “I’d gone from being made vice-captain to being fourth or fifth choice centre-back at times. I can see now I should have been calmer. I wish I had stayed here for another six months and maybe things would have changed. But at the time, I felt like I had reached my edge and took my career into my own hands.

“I always wanted to finish at Brondby because the fans are unbelievable, but the timing was all wrong. The year before, they had nearly been relegated and almost went bankrupt. I went there at a bad time. After I finished my two-year contract there, I didn’t feel like I could stay but I didn’t feel like I could go back out again either so I retired.”

Agger reveals Reds regret

Agger himself isn’t the only one who will always feel a sense of ‘what if’ about this football career.

On his day, the former Denmark international was a truly classy defender. Left-footed and as elegant as they come, Agger had everything a modern-day centre-back should.

However, injuries just wouldn’t leave him alone. He still played a fair bit for Liverpool across eight-and-a-half years, but it should have been more.

Because of what had been robbed from him with the fitness problems, Agger’s exit in 2014 was all the more disappointing.

Liverpool had just finished second in the Premier League and looked ready to become a force again. Although things didn’t play out that way, maybe they would have gone a little more smoothly with Agger involved.

Remarkably still just 29 when his Anfield career fizzled out, there’s no real reason Dan couldn’t have then seen in the start of Jurgen Klopp’s reign from 2015.

As one of the most senior members of the squad, Agger could have been one who Klopp really relied on in his early days. In his interview today, the Dane even admits that he’d have loved to have played under the current Liverpool boss.

“I’m a little bit jealous because I wanted to be part of something like that at Liverpool,” he says. “Klopp is the type of manager I would have loved to play for.” Oh, what could have been.