“I was privileged to wear the Liverpool shirt” – Benayoun on his “special” years at Anfield

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Former Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun had a number of highlights with the Reds, before leaving for Chelsea in 2010 at the age of 30, and is appreciative of his time with the club.

The Israeli ‘diamond’ joined the Reds from West Ham in 2007 for a fee of £5million, but actually took a pay cut to sign for the Merseyside outfit.

Some of Benayoun’s best bits include bagging a hat-trick against Besiktas in our famous 8-0 win, scoring a match-winning header at the Bernabeu and a dramatic last-gasp goal in the Premier League against Fulham to secure three points as the Reds pressed for the title in 2009.

He is also the only Liverpool player ever to have scored a hat-trick in the domestic league, Champions League and FA Cup, but says his biggest honour was wearing the shirt for three years.

There were a few moments, like the goal against Fulham. It was special at the moment because I really thought we would go to the end and win the league,he told the club’s official website.

We celebrated this day like crazy. Unlucky, the day after, Man United I think also won in the last moments and went back to the top of the table.

I have to say, these goals are very special, but the most special thing for me is that I was privileged to wear the Liverpool shirt for three years.

The Isreali left Liverpool in 2010 to return to London and sign for Chelsea, but he never hit the heights he did at Anfield and left England to sign for Maccabi Haifa in 2014 after stints with Arsenal, West Ham and QPR.

Benayoun actually only retired last year, at the age of 39, after making three appearances for Beitar Jerusalem – where he is now sporting director.

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