‘One Of The Greatest Soccer Players In The World’ Who Ditched Real Madrid To Join Liverpool: Archival
Serbian forward Milan Jovanovic, who recently turned 43, is one of the few players in history to turn down the opportunity to join Real Madrid, just to join Liverpool.
Anfield has been blessed with the presence of several great players throughout the club’s history, coming from both academy and other clubs.
Among all the great names that have graced the Merseyside pitch, a name which does not come up frequently and is often forgotten is Milan Jovanovic. The former Serbian forward turned 43 this Thursday and resurfaced in conversations.
Jovanovic joined the Reds back in 2010 on a free transfer from Belgian side Standard Liege. It was the same time when the then-owners Hicks and Gillett were slowly falling out of power.
He has been one of the few players in the history of football who rejected the possibility of playing for Los Blancos and opted to join LFC.
“I’ve no regrets about rejecting Real. Never. I will never go somewhere where I only play a small part. Why? It is better to be happy somewhere.”
Jovanovic’s statement on rejecting Real Madrid.
Milan Jovanovic: Career At Liverpool
The then-29-year-old joined the English giants after a superb season with Standard Liege. Milan scored 13 goals and assisted five times across all competitions, with two goals and an assist in the Champions League.
Even though he joined the Reds under the managership of Rafa Benitez when he finally moved to Merseyside, the club had reappointed Sir Kenny Dalglish as the new boss.
Despite being a signing of the previous manager, Dalglish gave Jovanovic the chances needed to prove himself.
The Serbian playmaker did not prove to be as lethal as he was back in Belgium, as he finished the 2010-11 season with 18 appearances across all competitions while scoring twice and assisting twice (stats via Transfermarkt).
Milan was transferred to the Belgian side RSC Anderlecht on a profit of €800k after just a year of joining the Merseyside club.
He then continued to play for the same club for two more seasons and retired at the end of the 2012-13 season.
Although his career did not reach the heights it could have, in October 2011, Jovanovic was described as ‘one of the greatest soccer players in the world’ by Andrew Robinson in the Australian soap Neighbours.
