World Cup-winning manager was offered the Liverpool job before Roy Hodgson in 2010 but turned them down
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The Reds might now be a star-studded team with one of the best managers in the world, but it is safe to say they have come a very long way in a short period of time.
Back in 2010, the whole club was in turmoil from top to bottom, with dreams of winning a Premier League title a long, long way off.
Roy Hodgson was the man at the helm for Liverpool during this period, albeit for a very short time as he was sacked after just six months with a win percentage of just 35%, the lowest of any Reds boss in Premier League history.
But, his tenure almost never happened and instead, a man who went on to lead his country to the World Cup almost arrived instead, but Liverpool made one big mistake.
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Hodgson really was a woeful appointment, but it was one that summed up how bad a position the club was in at the time.
To make matters worse, the Englishman was far from first-choice, and some of the candidates in front of him were simply astonishing.
One in particular caught the eye and that was Frenchman Didier Deschamps, who was in charge of Marseille at the time.
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The manager even admitted back in 2010 that Liverpool offered him the job before Hodgson, but he decided to turn it down just due to how late they left it in the summer.
“Yes, it’s true,” Deschamps said to The Guardian when asked if he was offered the job after Rafa Benitez departed.
“I was also very proud that a club like Liverpool were interested in me.
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“I was extremely pleased and happy [with Liverpool’s approach] but I decided to stay and continue my adventure with Marseille.”
Deschamps stayed at Marseille for another two years before taking up the role as manager of the national team, a position he remains in 13 years on.
In hindsight, this rejection seems like one of the worst possible things that could have happened, but Liverpool may not be in the position they are today if it did not happen.
At this period of time, owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks had negatively impacted the club to the point where it looked unsalvageable, meaning fans were begging for them to go.
And, by continuing to perform badly on the pitch under Hodgson, they were losing even more money, eventually having to sell the club in October 2010 after being unable to repay their loans.
They were taken over by current owners FSG who, despite the criticism they have faced, have turned out to be excellent for the club.
Every story has a silver lining and at the time, many fans would be rather annoyed, but now they can look back with very little anger.