Liverpool have had their fair share of strange transfers in the past.
Ben Davies is a prime example of this; the centre-back was signed from Preston North End back in 2021 during the Reds’ massive injury crisis, but he never played a game.
At the moment, he finds himself playing for Oxford United on a season-long loan deal from Rangers.
There are plenty more examples of strange transfers from Liverpool, such as this one, but something even more intriguing is the stories that often emerge from those moves.
And, back in the day, Maxi Rodriguez’s transfer from Atletico Madrid came as quite a shock.
Max Rodriguez lied to Rafa Benitez about speaking English so he could join Liverpool
Rodriguez was a Liverpool player for three years between 2009 and 2012.
The attacker played on both wings for the Anfield outfit as he even managed to outlive Benitez at the club.
He had a decent career for Liverpool as he managed to contribute to 23 goals across all competitions in just 73 games.
However, his move to L4 would have never even happened if he hadn’t lied to Rafa Benitez about being able to speak English.
“I was very happy at Atletico because I was the captain and I knew the city, but I was always crazy about English football,” he said in quotes relayed by talkSPORT.
“Rafa told me that it was very important that everyone spoke English in the changing room.
He asked me if I could and I said ‘yes’ to be calm. Of course, I didn’t want the transfer to collapse!
“We arrived in England and I had the press conference. He [Benitez] said he would start and then I would follow.
“It was then that I grabbed him and told him, ‘look Rafa, I need to confess, I don’t speak English. The only thing I can say is hello’.
“I didn’t want the transfer to fall through!
“He replied, ‘no, you are a son of a b—-’. We both laughed and then, well, I then had to learn!’”
Maxi Rodriguez became something of a fan favourite at Liverpool during his time at Anfield
Although Rodriguez was never Liverpool’s best player, he always put plenty of effort into every game he played.
He played under three managers during his time with Liverpool, with Kenny Dalglish and Roy Hodgson filling in the gaps after Benitez exited.
As mentioned, he was fairly prolific during his time at Anfield, with Liverpool’s fans even creating a song in his honour.
At the end of his Merseyside spell, the Argentinian chose to return to his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys before retiring at the end of the 2021 season.
Several more stories similar to this will likely come out in future years, but for now, it’s nice for fans to know how desperate Rodriguez was to actually join Liverpool upon his arrival.
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