Ossama Assaidi has revealed that a Skype chat with Brendan Rodgers convinced him to join Liverpool in 2012, with the current Celtic boss promising the winger he would be given playing time at Anfield, something which soon turned out to be wide of the mark.
The Reds, looking for a bargain in Dutch football, swooped in to beat Ajax to Assaidi's signature, doing a deal worth £2.4m with Eredivisie side Heerenveen.
But Assaidi's time at Liverpool did not go to plan as he struggled for minutes on the pitch and was eventually sent on loan spells to Stoke City in the 2013/14 and 2014/16 seasons, before leaving permanently in 2015 to sign for Dubai-based Al-Ahli.
He could have taken a different road, with Ajax wanting him to continue his development in the Netherlands, but Rodgers sold him on a switch to Liverpool.
"At that time I could have chosen Ajax and I had a nice conversation with [then coach Frank] de Boer", Assaidi said on De Tafel van Kees.
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"I would have felt honoured to play football for Ajax, it would have been a dream.
"But Brendan Rodgers called….
"We spoke on Skype and he said I was going to play – and that I would get a chance", the Morocco international explained.
"After that, I went there. Liverpool is obviously a big club."
Assaidi insists he had the chat on Skype with Rodgers because he needed to be sure if he snubbed Ajax for Liverpool he would be given time on the pitch to impress.
And while it turned out not to be the case, he does not have any hard feelings.
"I spoke with him via Skype, because I wanted to be sure I was going to play.
"But that was not true.
"Still, I'm not going to say that I had no chance.
"It went the way it went", Assaidi added.
The winger made his debut for Liverpool in the Europa League and departed Anfield having clocked up 12 appearances for the Reds, providing a single assist.
