French midfielder Maxime Lopez has confirmed that he was offered a contract by Liverpool when he was just 16 years old but turned it down as he wasn't ready to leave home.
Lopez was pursued by the Reds when he broke into the Marseille first team as teenager but instead stayed with the inaugural Champions League winners for four seasons in Ligue 1, making 113 appearances and scoring four goals.
Now 24, he currently plies his trade in Serie A with Italian side Sassuolo, but he could easily have ended up at Anfield or another giant of European football that he supported as a boy.
