Former Roma player Alberto Aquilani, one of the club’s top home-grown prospects in the mid 2000s, spoke to The Echo and recounted his experience in the capital and his move away to Liverpool.
“Many people think Liverpool spent too much money to then never let me play, so I was a flop. They’re right. It’s true.”
“However, a lot of things happened that led up to me being labelled a flop.”
He continued:
“For me it was very hard to leave Roma, both as a player and a fan.”
“I remember when I was younger, Arsenal and Chelsea came forward with really fantastic offers but I didn’t want to leave Roma.”
“The injury that I sustained later on changed everything: I was sidelined for 4-5 months.”
“At that point Liverpool was a great opportunity for me. It was a dream. Everyone told me it was footballing paradise and that it would be the right choice. A great club made up of great players.”
“Gerrard was a hero to me, so playing alongside him was a great opportunity.”