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Former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse has revealed that he turned down offers from Real Madrid and Barcelona in favor of a move to Anfield after giving his word to the Reds.
Cisse joined Liverpool from the French side Auxerre and went on to score 13 goals in 49 appearances for the Reds between 2004 and 2006, when he moved to Marseille. He later returned to the Premier League with Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers.
"I nearly signed for Barcelona and Real Madrid in the summer of 2004," he told Poker Strategy. "However, I turned those offers down in favor of a move to Liverpool.
"That season I scored 26 goals at Auxerre, so there were a lot of clubs interested in signing me that summer, but I wanted the move to Anfield.
"I had given my word to Liverpool, and I didn’t want to go back on that agreement.
"Of course, it would have been great to line up at the Camp Nou or the Bernabeu alongside the talent there was there at the time, but I had already had some good conversations with the club and I was happy to sign for Liverpool.
"Liverpool is a great club and it was one of the best nights of my career to win the Champions League in the way we did in Istanbul the following year, so I’m very happy with the choice I made."
Cisse has returned to Liverpool since leaving to play for the LFC Legends team. They are in action at Stamford Bridge this weekend against Chelsea Legends, though Cisse has not been confirmed as featuring.
"I chose Liverpool because of, first, Gerard Houllier," Cisse said earlier this year. "He made it feel like it was a safe place to go but also a safe place with a massive history.
"It was a massive club for me to improve my football and to become the player I wanted to be.
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"Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Ian Rush... they were strikers I watched when I was a kid, so it was an honor and a pleasure for me to walk in their footsteps.
"And I'm a man of my word. I gave my word to Liverpool a year before I actually signed for the club; in my last season with Auxerre, I had already told Liverpool I would join them.
"Nothing was signed, no contract or anything, but I had a really good feeling about Gerard Houllier. So, in my mind, it was Liverpool and nothing else, even if nothing was signed.
"Obviously, I then knew about the interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid as well, but when I give my word, I give my word."
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