Marseille midfielder Maxime Lopez has insisted he doesn't regret turning down a move to Liverpool when he was a teenager.
Lopez made his Marseille debut in 2016 and – now 22 – has since made 143 appearances, helping his club to secure a Champions League place for next season. According to the player himself though, his career could have taken a very different path.
In an interview with French Twitch streamer Warkik, Lopez revealed that he could have ended up at Anfield in his youth, after being questioned over the possibility of a new contract at Marseille. Lopez's current deal expires at the end of June 2021 and the player insisted he is keen to renew with the club he chose over Liverpool.
Speaking about the approach, in quotes relayed by RMC Sport, Lopez said: "Liverpool did everything to get me to sign. I hesitated a lot but today, I no longer regret, I made the right choice."
Lopez has played 23 times in Ligue 1 this season, registering three assists as Marseille finished second behind runaway leaders PSG. This means Marseille will return to the Champions League for the first time since 2013/14, an opportunity Lopez is relishing.
He continued: "It's going to make us all shiver, it's going to be weird for everyone. I hope we don't take a group of crazy people."
Maxime Lopez a indiqué qu'il a bien failli signer au Barça : "Les gens se moquent de moi par rapport à ça, mais ça a été le cas. Ils ont beau dire ce qu'ils veulent mais le recruteur général du Barça, Robert Fernandez, qui a recruté Dembélé, était en contact avec mon agent." pic.twitter.com/ODaRumpEHv
— Instant Foot ???? (@lnstantFoot) June 10, 2020
As well as Liverpool, Lopez also revealed another potential Champions League opponent that tried to sign him when he was younger. That club was Barcelona, and he told Warkik that Robert Fernandez, the man responsible for bringing Ousmane Dembélé to Camp Nou, spoke to his agent as well.
Lopez joked that not everyone believes he was once a target for Barça though, adding: "People make fun of me about that but it really was. They can say whatever they want but the general recruiter of Barça, Robert Fernandez, who recruited Ousmane Dembélé, was really in touch with my agent. He said: 'We will wait a year and if he is still performing, he will come to us.'
"People can say what they want and have the right to laugh but it's the truth."
Source : 90min