Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has revealed that he turned down the chance to quit Anfield during Brendan Rodgers's time in charge.
The 27-year-old is now considered an integral part of the club that he joined from Sunderland in 2011, playing 207 games in that time.
Henderson has not always been so highly valued, though, as he initially struggled to fully win over supporters and was told that he could leave as part of a swap deal involving Fulham's Clint Dempsey six years ago.
Rodgers gave the Englishman a chance to revive his career at Craven Cottage, which Henderson admits left him in tears as he contemplated his future.
"Brendan called me in and said 'listen, this is the offer' and he asked me what I thought," he told the Daily Mail. "It implied to me that he would let me leave and it was up to me. I went back to my room. I shed a few tears. I ended up crying a little bit because it hurt so much. I had the game that night to think about it as well.
"I spoke to my agent and told him what had happened and I said I didn't want to go. I wanted to stay and fight and try and improve and try to prove the manager wrong. My agent agreed. I spoke to my dad. He was gutted but he backed my decision to stay and fight.
"From that point, I just kept my head down. I knew I wouldn't get as much game time as I wanted but I still had faith. I was young enough to get my head down, keep working hard, do my extra bits and prove them wrong and I feel I managed to do that by the time Brendan left.
"There are always those moments in football - and life in general - which can decide the path and the route you go down. For me it was never an option to leave."
Henderson is expected to start Liverpool's Champions League final against Real Madrid in Kiev next weekend.
Daniel Lewis
