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Robbie Fowler has shared that Liverpool attempted to offload him on multiple occasions despite the Toxteth-born striker being content at Anfield.
Fowler progressed through Liverpool's youth system from an early age before turning professional with the club in 1992. Twelve months later, the former England international made his bow in an FA Cup fixture. The now-50-year-old swiftly established himself as one of the Premier League's leading marksmen, netting 120 goals for Liverpool before his contentious departure in 2001.
Fowler's rapport with Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier had soured at the dawn of the new millennium. The Frenchman had begun omitting Fowler from his matchday squads, and eventually, the Anfield legend left the club.
Former Soccer AM host John Fendley questioned Fowler on episode three of The Boot Room, presented by LifeJacket, about whether it was challenging to depart Liverpool initially. "It was, but ultimately, it was my decision," Fowler replied.
"I felt as though I was forced to leave. I left to go to Leeds, Leeds weren't the first that came in for me.
"The club [Liverpool] had tried to sell me a few times. I think Newcastle was one, Aston Villa was another one.
"I remember [being] sat at my mate's house one night, and my phone goes. I answer it and it's Gianluca Vialli at Chelsea, and he said, 'The club have agreed a fee, and we've got an affidavit, we want you to come and chat.' I was taken aback because 'I'm happy at Liverpool, I don't want to go anywhere.
"But, behind the scenes, the club were trying to sell me. I had a quick conversation with him [Vialli], 'I'll come back to you, I'll have to speak to the club,' because I was getting a phone call saying 'the club are getting rid of you,' but I needed to speak to the club.
"So I went in the next day, and the manager denied it, and I just sort of knew my days were numbered. Then Leeds came a few weeks later, and I just knew, for my own sake, sanity, my own health, if you like, that I probably just needed to leave.
"I think if I'd been allowed to have been at Liverpool, and only Liverpool, for all of my career, I'd have taken that all day long."
Leeds United eventually secured Fowler's signature for £12m in late 2001. Though it appeared a marquee signing, life in West Yorkshire proved challenging for the striker.
The Anfield legend picked up an injury at the beginning of the 2002/03 campaign that kept him out for several months. Fowler then found it difficult to return to peak condition.
The forward would subsequently join Manchester City, spending four seasons there before making an emotional return to Liverpool without a transfer fee.
Fowler departed Anfield permanently in 2007 and went on to represent Cardiff and Blackburn before heading to Australia and concluding his playing days with Thai outfit Muangthong United.
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