3 weeks ago
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A year ago, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold were approaching the final six months of their Liverpool deals, leaving supporters anxiously hoping the trio would commit their futures to the club.
Ultimately, prolific forward Salah and skipper Van Dijk both signed extensions, while Alexander-Arnold rejected the offer and departed for Real Madrid instead. The latter has since struggled in Spain, with his place at next year's World Cup now in doubt.
Madrid is also believed to be keen on Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate, who enters the final year of his deal and can negotiate with foreign clubs from January 1 regarding a free transfer next summer.
If Konate follows the example set by his defensive partner Van Dijk and Salah by committing to fresh terms at Anfield, it would prove popular with supporters, despite the France international's inconsistent performances this season.
However, consider a situation where Konate signed a new long-term deal with the Reds, only to be sold shortly afterwards. While it seems far-fetched, this exact scenario befell former Liverpool player Dominic Matteo during the summer of 2000.
Matteo had just completed his most productive campaign for Liverpool during the 1999-00 season, making 32 Premier League appearances and providing six assists. However, Gerard Houllier's pursuit of Christian Ziege from Middlesbrough, despite having just offered the Scotland international fresh terms, ultimately signalled the end of his time at Anfield.
Speaking exclusively to the ECHO last year, Matteo confessed he was devastated to leave Liverpool. "When I left Liverpool, I had five years left on my contract," he recalled. "I didn't think I was going anywhere, but I didn't think I was going to get the game time again.
"The reason why I left was because of that. There was no other reason. I wanted to stay, but I wasn't going to get the game time. I thought I couldn’t have another three or four years of not playing. It just wasn’t what I wanted.
"So Gerard had to make a call. You have to make calls, and I think he definitely wanted to keep me. No two ways about that.
"I generally thought I would play ahead of Ziege in my own head, because you have got to have that confidence about yourself. I wasn’t being cocky, I just thought I could match that. And I could play numerous positions as well, which I always thought was a help.
"If you look at that the year before, I was probably one of the best players! I didn’t miss many games.
"And obviously Liverpool just missed out on the Champions League that year. We lost at Bradford of all places, 1-0. But things could have been different. I think if we'd won that game, would I stay? Maybe. You know, I might stayed. I don't know, but obviously, again, it was about playing that next season."
Matteo continued: "Obviously, I was gutted that I had to leave. Even though we talked about the five years and my contract, I was gutted. I was gutted, I was heartbroken for a long time, but I had to make the right call to play games."
Matteo went on to spend four seasons at Leeds before spells with Blackburn and Stoke, making more than 350 club appearances.
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