Iago Aspas is a cult-figure at Liverpool for all the wrong reasons…
The Spaniard flopped badly during his one season in England, infamously taking ‘the worst corner of all time’ in a must-win fixture with Chelsea which we lost – costing us the Premier League title.
We offloaded him back to La Liga, where he’s now found a very high level which has got him into the Spain squad.
This term, he’s bagged 15 goals domestically, more than Antoine Griezmann, only behind Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo in the scoring charts!
Despite Aspas’s struggles in England, he remembers the experience fondly…
“Despite what people may think, it was a very enriching experience for me,” he told Sky Sports.
“In England and then in Seville I grew as a professional and a person. My relationship with Rodgers was normal between a coach and his player. I did not play much that year, but you must remember that I met Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge at the highest level. Suarez is a spectacular striker.
“I would not have stayed because I wanted to play as many minutes as possible and there I did not have them, not when Suarez was playing like that.
“Language? I learned something, not much, but football is a universal language.”
Aspas’s form has led some to claim we sold him too early, but the fact of the matter is some footballers just can’t settle in England.
He’s clearly a nice lad and we’re happy he’s enjoying some success at Celta Vigo, but the likes of Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are a serious upgrade on the attacker.