Liverpool defender was happy to see striker go – because he might start kicking him

For the nomadic Nicolas Anelka, a player who moved 13 times during his playing days, there was one in particular that he felt should have been where his roots were laid. It was December 2001 when the France international striker joined Liverpool on a mid-season loan from Paris Saint-Germain. With manager Gerard Houllier and assistant Phil Thompson looking for additional firepower for their Premier League title push in the second half of the campaign, Anelka has made the Reds the fifth club by the age of 22.

The electric Frenchman enjoyed his time under Houllier and scored five times in 22 appearances before the end of the season and it became widely tipped that the move would be permanent. For reasons yet to be publicly detailed, the dream would be dashed. An official club statement confirmed the decision, saying: “After much thought, we have decided not to make Nicolas Anelka’s move from Paris St Germain a permanent one.

“It was a difficult decision and we know Nicolas will be very disappointed, but the manager has always had to do what he thinks is best for the club and for the development of the team.”

READ MORE: I was absolutely disgusted by what Liverpool manager did to me – I considered quitting football

READ MORE: Ronaldinho slaughters Brazil in stunning upset as Alisson and Co prepare for Copa America

Houllier would later say: “I don’t want to state the reasons why I didn’t want to sign him, but I think he knows why and it has nothing to do with football.” Rumors of his brothers acting as his representatives and their questionable demands swirled, something the late, great Houllier briefly addressed in 2015. “I wish I would have kept Nicolas Anelka,” he he said. – But his brothers didn’t help him.

Speaking in his documentary ‘Miunderstood’, which was released in 2020, the player famously nicknamed ‘le Sulk’ for his cantankerous temper explained why he thought Liverpool was the right place for him. “Liverpool fans think I didn’t want to stay,” he said. “They have to know that wasn’t the case. That episode was tragic for me. It’s a club where I could have done great things. I did well, they made the game I was looking for and the atmosphere was good. For Nu it was no doubt, but it obviously didn’t suit Mr. Houllier.”

It’s fair to label the decision not to sign Anelka as one of Liverpool’s great mistakes of the 21st century. Or, more precisely, his choice of replacement was.

El-Hadji Diouf got the nod over Anelka. Liverpool completed a £10m deal with French club Lens, confirming the big-money move on 1 June 2002, a day after Senegal shocked the planet with a victory over holders France in their opening World Cup game.

Diouf would inspire Senegal to the quarter-finals in Japan and it looked like Houllier had pulled off a master stroke in signing the enigmatic leader before his profile skyrocketed after a good few weeks at the tournament. The reality once Diouf mounted at Anfield, however, was anything but.

Six goals were scored in his two full seasons with the Reds, a third of which came on his debut in a win over Southampton. He remains, until today, the only no. 9 at Liverpool who went through a whole season without a goal.

The mere mention of the former Senegal star now is enough to elicit a wince from those who witnessed his form, attitude and demeanor 22 years ago. Two decades on, it seems those days are remembered all too well by those who were there.

The ECHO contacted a number of Diouf’s former colleagues at Liverpool during that era. Interview requests were either politely declined or ignored altogether. “Nothing to say about him! Sorry,” was one reply. Point taken.

Those who were willing to speak say they noticed a change in Diouf’s attitude when he was named African Footballer of the Year in 2002 at the start of 2003. This, they say, was where the wild traits intensified and interest in playing for Liverpool was turned down. For Diouf, it simply didn’t matter that he was playing for one of the most famous clubs in world football.

Former defender Jon Otsemobor remembers being woken up at around 2am by Diouf and a group of around 10 people, just hours before Melwood training, in the mood to party. “I was still a boy and I was just disappointed to think that he took my friendship and used it,” Otsemobor told the ECHO. “I felt at the time when I walked into the dressing room, you can’t use me like that, I’m your friend. If he needed a place to stay and all that, fine, but I’m not hosting parties for all the different people flying into the country every weekend!”

The party lifestyle was something Diouf embraced as his toil on the pitch continued. Those close to the time speak of a player who would often arrange to meet in the trendy Living Rooms, a frequent haunt of footballers in the early 2000s, before turning up unannounced if an offer came his way better.

An altercation with Everton supporters in another city center bar is reported in detail. Having heard plenty of goading from Blues fans as he tried to use the gentlemen, Diouf’s explosive response – using expletive-laden phrases inappropriate for print on the ECHO’s family pages – almost caused a riot, according to those who were there. .

There was an aloofness in his personality that overcame a generous streak. Diouf is said to have once invited a friend from Merseyside to Senegal to stay with him during the Africa Cup of Nations. The guest was stranded at Dakar Airport after the prearranged transport did not arrive.

“Nobody came and dropped my calls,” says the guest. “If it wasn’t for Salif Diao, I would have been snookered! Over the course of three weeks (which was supposed to be) visiting him, I saw him twice. Once on the beach, once in a night club. Neither one was not arranged!”

It is also claimed that Diouf and then club captain Steven Gerrard almost came to blows during a heated pre-season exchange. In a live Instagram, Florent Sinama-Pongolle repeated the incident.

He said: “Half time in the dressing room. Stevie G’s like, ‘You’ve got to pass, you’ve got to pass,’ and (Diouf) just loses it. He didn’t speak English. His English was rubbish.

“They hated each other so much. Steven Gerrard arrives saying “hey hell”. And (Diouf) couldn’t answer, so he grabs Gerard Houllier and says ‘tell him, dammit’. *** ***’ He came in and said: “I’m not his partner, I’ll make him right away!”.

For all its faults, it is insisted that Diouf’s generosity was a great character trait. If club officials booked him flights, he would always pay far more than he owed, and was always happy to spend hundreds on clothes for others at the Liverpool designer store Wade Smith.

On the pitch, however, he reached new heights when he spat at a Celtic fan during a UEFA Cup match in 2003. He was fined £5,000 for the incident and embarrassed his club with whom he shared a relationship great with the Scottish giants.

Houllier later remarked: “His attitude at times, particularly his habit of spitting, caused us problems. Maybe I should have been more careful about that, because I remember him doing it once or twice when he was warming up for games. I remember one game at Anfield when he had some trouble with the West Ham fans And of course what happened at Celtic when he spat at a Celtic supporter was totally out of line.”

For many, this was the final straw. He made his final appearance for Liverpool in an 80-game career that was more memorable for his unsavory incidents in April 2004, before joining Bolton Wanderers for £4.5m on the day since 2005.

“The worst (teammate I’ve had) has to be El Hadji Diouf,” Jamie Carragher once said. “I actually quite enjoyed playing against him because you could kick him then – you can’t kick your own players.”

Diouf’s legacy, two decades later, is one that is only marred by controversy. The 43-year-old’s name is regularly thrown up when discussing Liverpool’s worst signings, and there are few redeeming moments to counter such arguments.

A penny for the thoughts of Nicolas Anelka.

A version of this piece was first published in 2022