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Two of Peter Crouch's former clubs will face off when Aston Villa head to Anfield on Saturday evening and the ex-England striker may be reminded of his time playing for both teams.
Crouch spent three seasons at Anfield but left just one year after Fernando Torres joined and ultimately took his spot up top. During an appearance on John Obi Mikel's podcast, Obi One, Crouch stated that Torres' blockbuster move from Atletico Madrid was the reason he transferred to Portsmouth in 2008.
Describing the tight partnership that the Spaniard formed with Reds icon Steven Gerrard, he said: "I mean, he's the reason I left, right? I just looked at the partnership between him and Stevie, right? It's like having a, it's like an ex-wife.
"It's like a girlfriend, and you see her with someone else and they're blossoming and you're like 'Aw no!' It was basically like watching Stevie cheat [on me] every week."
Crouch believed the bond Gerrard and Torres formed was similar to an unfaithful partner but despite this, he couldn't be mad because the football was so good. Gerrard and his new Spanish striker combined for a total of 23 goals throughout their time together but failed to win any silverware.
On the other hand, Crouch and Gerrard won an FA Cup and Community Shield together, with the iconic midfielder assisting the Englishman five times.
Admitting his joy in watching the Gerrard-Torres partnership, Crouch added: "Yes, it was hard to watch but it was also beautiful at the same time because they had such an understanding. It just quickly turned into something. Yeah, it was incredible.
"Stevie is so smart; he played just behind [Torres], and then you had Xabi as well. It was an amazing midfield as well."
Highlighting Torres' incredible abilities, Crouch added: "He would kind of slip him into little areas and then he was unplayable in those little kind of pockets, kind of in between the center half and the fullback. He'd just receive it on the side and he just burned people.
"He'd stand you up and be gone and then he'd always finish. You kind of knew what he was going to do but you couldn't stop it."
Crouch scored 42 goals and assisted 23 times in 135 appearances for the Reds, in comparison to Torres' 81 goals and 19 assists in 142 games.
The duo were both formidable strikers for Liverpool at different periods of time but even Crouch can't deny the impact that his Spanish replacement had on the club during his four seasons in red.
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