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Steve McManaman has revealed that Liverpool's handling of Roy Evans was the catalyst for his departure to Real Madrid.
The former winger joined the Reds aged 16 and spent the opening nine years of his professional career at Anfield before leaving in 1999. He wouldn't be the last player to quit Liverpool for Madrid, with Michael Owen following suit in 2004 and Trent Alexander-Arnold doing the same earlier this year. The latter will be back at Anfield on Tuesday, when Liverpool takes on Madrid in the Champions League.
Establishing himself as one of the Premier League's finest wingers during his spell at the club, regular silverware eluded McManaman throughout what proved a transitional era for Liverpool during the 1990s.
After four trophy-less years on Merseyside, the hierarchy's controversial decision to appoint Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier as joint-managers marked the start of McManaman's exit from the club.
The managerial partnership survived just four months before Evans stepped down, leaving the Frenchman in sole charge - a position he occupied for six years until his departure in 2004.
The unconventional arrangement was destined to fail from the outset, McManaman told The Athletic earlier this year.
The TNT Sports pundit said: "It was clear to me from the moment that it was announced that it wasn't going to work. My understanding was that we were looking for a first-team coach with new ideas to freshen things up.
"Then Gerard came in as joint manager. Once that happens and the other joint manager doesn't know anything about it, the writing is on the wall."
The suggestion that Evans bore responsibility when results went against the team infuriated McManaman, who described the club's treatment of the former Liverpool manager as "awful."
"When we won a game, it was because of Gerard's new ideas, and when we lost a game, it was because of Evo," he explained. "I thought it was awful. I adored Evo. I didn't associate my club with dealing with people like that.
"When they got rid of Evo, and the way they did it, I made up my mind then: 'Right, I'm leaving.' I told Gerard early on, and he kept it quiet, all credit to him. I had a good relationship with him. He lined up Vladimir Smicer as my replacement."
McManaman's switch to Madrid in 1999 saw him become just the second British player to turn out for the Spanish giants. He stressed that his decision wasn't driven by finances, but rather the chance to prove himself at the highest level as a Madridista.
Speaking on the Big Interview podcast, he said: "It wasn't financial, because the money Liverpool offered me to stay was virtually on a par. I wanted to leave. At that time, I had never played in the Champions League, which was a huge thing. I was playing really good football, and I needed to test myself. I felt that I needed to go.
"I wanted to go abroad, I didn't want to play for somebody against Liverpool. I was playing good football and I had the right kind of clubs interested in me - Barcelona, Madrid, and Juventus. They were European Champions, World Champions, they were the best team in the world. That white kit, Di Stefano, Puskas, all that. And so it was Madrid."
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