The sporting director who brought Jordan Henderson to Liverpool back in 2011 believes that he would have been playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona even if he would have moved to Fulham.
Damien Comolli was Liverpool's sporting director from 2010 until he was dismissed by the Reds' owners Fenway Sports Group in 2012 owing to what were perceived to be transfer misses.
Comolli himself told talkSPORT in 2016 that one of the reasons for his dismissal was the signing of Henderson from Sunderland in June 2011 for around £16m, with the slow start to life at Anfield for the then 20-year-old central midfielder proving to be the final straw after the disappointments of the likes of Andy Carroll and Sebastian Coates.
But hindsight is a wonderful thing and the man who Comolli believed could fill the void left by Steven Gerrard's departure, while a very different player than the legendary midfielder he was replacing, has nevertheless written his name into Liverpool folklore, becoming captain and lifting a Champions League and Premier League trophy in his near 11 years at the club.
He has earned himself legendary status and continues to be a key man for Jurgen Klopp's team.
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However, in August of 2012 then Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers had told Henderson he was free to move to Fulham having failed to impress the Northern Irishman sufficiently. Henderson, who has gone on to notch 68 England caps and more than 400 Liverpool appearances, rejected that chance and decided to stay and fight.
For Comolli, who had left Anfield by this point, it was a clear demonstration of the character Henderson possesses, the character that he believes sets him apart. And even if the Fulham move would have happened, Comolli doesn't believe his career would have been derailed from the stellar journey it has been on.
Speaking to the Football Journeys Podcast, Comolli said: "I am a strong believer that the more talented a player is the more you have to wait for him. I was of the opinion of if they have talent then give them time.
"I think if Jordan would have gone to Fulham he would have ended up at Real Madrid, or Barcelona, or Bayern Munich. I know he would have been at a massive club and ended up being a massive player, that's for sure.
"The younger the player is and the more talented he is then the more we should wait."
Henderson's drive to be the best he can be has been evident in how he has grown as a player during his time at Liverpool, and how despite the transformation of the side that happened under Klopp he has continued to transform with it and continue to grow, able to compete at the very highest levels of the game.
Comolli, who now serves as president at French side Toulouse, a club owned by FSG partners and part-Liverpool owners RedBird Capital, doesn't see his success as vindication for his beliefs, instead stressing that the rise to success was always destined to happen.
Comolli said: "I'm proud of what he's achieved himself, not for myself or anything like that. I'm proud of him.
"After the Champions League final I texted him and said 'I'm so proud of you'.
"I'm going to sound arrogant but what he has achieved is what we thought he could achieve. We were convinced he could be a Liverpool captain and we were convinced he could replaced Stevie (Gerrard). We were convinced he could get to the level he is at etc etc.
"That is amazing success driven by his personality, his inner drive, his intrinsic motivation, his obsession for improvement. It is all down to him."
