Not joining Liverpool is my biggest regret in football – I was halfway through my medical
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SportFootballLiverpool FC transfer newsLiverpool missed out on signing one former Premier League star after he decided the transfer "didn't feel right" despite being midway through his medicalFormer Premier League star Lee Bowyer regretted not joining Liverpool after bailing out of the £9million move midway through his medical. Speaking to former Premier League rivals Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, Bowyer recalled this as the "biggest regret" he experienced during his playing career."I was very close [to joining Liverpool] - I was halfway through a medical but it just didn't feel right for me at the time," he said on Sky Sports in 2020.
"That is my biggest regret in football not going to Liverpool at that time."If I could've turned the clock back I would've gone. I knew my time was coming to an end at Leeds due to a few things behind the scenes that didn't sit well with me so I knew it was my time to go."I thought doing another five years up north being a long way away from my family after doing six years at Leeds didn't sit right but after all that I ended up going to Newcastle which is even further away, so it makes no sense!
But at the time it just didn't feel right, and that was the mistake I made."Bowyer went on to join West Ham in January 2003, just six months after his Liverpool transfer collapsed. There is an alternative account of why the move failed, however, as Liverpool released their own statement on the matter at the time."Liverpool FC have decided not to go ahead with the proposed transfer of Lee Bowyer for a variety of reasons," read a statement published on the official Liverpool club website."Manager Gerard Houllier was not convinced the player had either the hunger or desire to play for the club, qualities which are essential for any Liverpool player."Thousands of Liverpool fans upgraded their matchday last season.