Ahead of the League Cup final on Sunday, Florent Malouda has revealed he could have signed for Liverpool before joining Chelsea.
The French winger had a glittering six-year stint with the West London club, winning a whopping six trophies, including the club's first ever Champions League. But thanks to a former Liverpool manager he was offered a pathway that could have seen him become a Kop hero instead.
France international Malouda was playing for Lyon at the time under the management of former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier, who tried to engineer a deal for his old club to sign the player.
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Speaking to Genting Casino, Malouda said: "Gerard Houllier was my coach. Whenever I was training, I would always ask him questions about the Premier League and whether or not I should play there.
"He said you have to go and experience the Premier League at least once in your career and then he grabbed his phone and called Liverpool – he literally made the deal for me."
By now, Rafa Benitez was in charge of The Reds and after speaking with Houllier, the Spaniard was keen on signing his player.
"Liverpool were the first team to make an offer. Rafa was the coach and he really pushed for me to go to Liverpool," said Malouda.
But despite the lure of Anfield, he would eventually join Chelsea in a £13 million move in 2007. When discussing joining the London club over Liverpool, Malouda mentions the pride he felt and the fact that he already knew so many of the players in the team.
He said: "When Chelsea came in for me, I felt so much pride. I knew a lot of the players that were already there, and of course we would speak regularly on the phone, which helped my decision, so I knew Chelsea were the club that I really wanted to join."
Malouda had played with Michael Essien at Lyon and Didier Drogba at Guingamp in the French League and was keen to join them in West London.
He concluded: "I wanted to be part of the squad. Didier Drogba moved, then Michael Essien, two guys I played with in France, so it was like I already knew everything about Chelsea.
"Maklele was there, Gallas played there. One year before I signed, I used to come to Chelsea to watch my friends and I was already connected to the team. I knew I wanted to play for Chelsea."
Malouda's decision proved to be a good one, as he went on to win a Premier League title, the Champions League, three FA Cups and the Community Shield with the Blues.
Turning his attention to Sunday's League Cup final, Malouda sent a warning to Liverpool by stating that Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will have the team perfectly prepared for the big occasion.
He said: "Tuchel deserves huge credit. I think mentally and psychologically he’s done very important work to develop the players for high intensity and high-pressure matches."
When asked if he thought Tuchel would beat his fellow German in the final on Sunday, Malouda backed him and his former club to deliver, saying: "This is a huge challenge. I’m sure that Liverpool has other plans. From what I saw last season, right after the Champions League final, Thomas Tuchel wants to win more and more – the more he wins he doesn’t lose focus.
"That’s how he prepares his team from the beginning. He brings the competition and he keeps everyone on their toes – it’s because he’s always thinking about the next achievement, and that’s what it’s all about. He’ll be thinking about his records and he will want to win."
Malouda warned of the danger that Liverpool possess, but thinks Tuchel will set-up the team to deliver a victory on Sunday.
He added: "With these two teams, the game will always be tight. You know in terms of style, Chelsea like to put pressure on teams and Liverpool is very good on the counterattack. I think Chelsea has to be very, very careful.
"In every final won by Chelsea, they always put pressure on the opponent, it doesn’t matter who they face. In the Champions League final, Man City couldn’t play their game because of the high-pressure Chelsea put them under. That’s what Thomas Tuchel came for, Tuchel came for the final.
"To achieve that you need to be able to deliver physical intensity and you need your best players to be mentally ready to deliver the same kind of performance."
When asked to predict a score, he concluded: "I would say 2-1 for Chelsea."
