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Dominic Matteo at a Leeds United press conference at at Crown Towers, Melbourne, Australia(Image: Photo by Robert Cianflone\/Getty Images)<\/p>\nDominic Matteo recalled how he was sold by Liverpool just days after signing a new five-year contract in an exclusive interview with the ECHO’s Theo SquiresDominic Matteo at a Leeds United press conference at at Crown Towers, Melbourne, Australia(Image: Photo by Robert Cianflone\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
This time last year Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold were edging dangerously close to the final six months of their Liverpool contracts. It left supporters to wait anxiously in hope that the Reds trio penned extensions to remain at the club.<\/p>\n
In the end, talismanic top-scorer Salah<\/a> and captain Van Dijk<\/a> did just that, but Alexander-Arnold<\/a> turned down the offer to stay and instead signed for Real Madrid.<\/p>\n Madrid are also said to be interested in Liverpool<\/a> centre-back Ibrahima Konate<\/a>, who is in the last year of his contract and from January 1 on, can speak to clubs outside of England about a free transfer summer move.<\/p>\n OPINION<\/p>\n Should Konate follow his centre-back partner Van Dijk’s and Salah’s lead, and pen fresh terms at Anfield<\/a>, it would be a move that would please fans, despite the France international’s, at times, difficult campaign.<\/p>\n But imagine a scenario when Konate agreed a new long-term contract with the Reds, only to find himself sold on days later. It\u2019s a surreal concept, but that is exactly what happened to former Reds star Dominic Matteo back in the summer of 2000.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the Monday, I was signing a five-year deal that, by the standards of the day, was a lucrative one. But, just four days later, I was on my way out of Liverpool,” Matteo revealed in his autobiography, \u2018In My Defence\u2019, published in 2011. \u201cI was in shock. How could things change so quickly in just four days?<\/p>\n \u201cThe thought of leaving was an upsetting one. But, for the good of my career, I needed a fresh start. So, I went. It meant I missed out on all the trophies that Liverpool won the following season. I\u2019ll admit that seeing the lads pick up the FA Cup<\/a>, League Cup<\/a> and UEFA Cup was difficult.”<\/p>\n Matteo had just enjoyed his most successful season yet for Liverpool in 1999\/00, starting 32 times in the Premier League<\/a> and recording six assists. But Gerard Houllier<\/a>\u2019s decision to pursue Christian Ziege from Middlesbrough, despite handing the Scotland international a new long-term contract, proved to be the death knell on his Reds career.<\/p>\n In an exclusive interview with the ECHO<\/a>, Matteo admitted he was heartbroken to leave Liverpool.<\/p>\n But while he is confident Houllier wanted to keep him, having only just signed that contract extension, and had faith in his ability to play ahead of Ziege, he did not want to risk giving up on regular starting football.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I left Liverpool, I had five years left on my contract,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI didn’t think I was going anywhere, but I didn’t think I was going to get the game time again.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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\u2019t have another three or four years of not playing. It just wasn\u2019t what I wanted.<\/p>\n \u201cSo 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI generally thought I would play ahead of Ziege in my own head, because you have got to have that confidence about yourself. I wasn\u2019t being cocky, I just thought I could match that. And I could play numerous positions as well, which I always thought was a help.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at that the year before, I was probably one of the best players! I didn\u2019t miss many games.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd obviously Liverpool just missed out on the Champions League<\/a> 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Matteo continued: \u201cObviously 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd obviously getting the opportunity to go to Leeds and we were in the Champions League. But then that year Liverpool go and win the UEFA Cup. So for me, mixed emotions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would’ve been nice in a way. You’d be lying if you didn’t say I’d like to have stayed and won things with them, of course I would. But life doesn\u2019t work like that. You move forward into your career.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing I would want to do is to have won those trophies, like everyone else did. But I didn’t manage to get that. And that’s something that always bugs you.<\/p>\n \u201cIt shouldn’t bug people, but it kind of does in a way, because you’ve been at a club for so long and you just miss out on stuff. But that’s football.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people can have great careers but don’t win all them trophies and. That wasn’t just for me, I was just happy to be playing football and playing for Liverpool at that point, and to play at the highest level.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then you get the opportunity to go to a club like Leeds United. So it all ended up, I was winning either way with them. I’m happy. I played in that red shirt and then got to move across the Pennines.\u201d<\/p>\n Ziege would actually end up flopping at Anfield and was sold to Tottenham Hotspur after just one season, while Matteo established himself as a firm fan-favourite at Leeds.<\/p>\n Didi Hamann, who played alongside Ziege for both Bayern Munich and Germany, even urged Matteo to stay put and told the defender he would start ahead of his compatriot. But after seven years in the Liverpool first team without being first choice for the majority, the now 51-year-old had already had his share of fighting for his place.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to play. I knew I was playing well,\u201d he reiterated. \u201cI knew I was hitting things at the right moment. Things were working for me training wise and everything was going in the right direction.<\/p>\n \u201cBut obviously when you’re a club like Liverpool and the big hitters come in for someone, you always know and I had a lot of that.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was a young player at Liverpool, there was so much experience coming in. John Scales, Phil Babb, Mark Wright, all these people were ahead of me. They\u2019re all great players, all had great careers.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I’m thinking, \u2018When am I going to get my chance to play my actual position?\u2019 So it was a lot of things in my mind going around thinking I want to play more.<\/p>\n \u201cAt that point I was playing very well. I was playing well. Didi was my mate, he was trying to support me even though he\u2019s German as well as Ziege, but I think he knew there was a place for me whether it would have been at full-back or centre-back.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he was just wanting to keep me around because he knew that the improvement in me over the last few years, I knew it was better. And it was all down to playing regularly and staying away from injuries. That’s key.<\/p>\n \u201cBut regular football, when you’re at a club like Liverpool, it\u2019s hard. Unless you’re the superstar like Fowler or Michael Owen, they’re always going to play.<\/p>\n \u201cBut when you are another young lad coming through who hasn\u2019t quite got the pedigree that they’ve got, it’s always going to be a battle to get into the first team.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd there’s only so long you can do that for before you have to make a choice. And I suppose that’s what happened, I had to make a choice. And it was to go to Leeds United.\u201d<\/p>\n Matteo actually ended up failing his medical with Leeds because of a knee injury, but he was assured that his \u00a34.75m transfer would go through regardless. Having come through the youth ranks with Liverpool, his Reds career was over.<\/p>\n \u201cDavid (O\u2019Leary) and Peter (Ridsdale) said to me, \u2018We\u2019re signing you on a long contract. So whatever this scenario is, we want you anyway’,\u201d he said. \u2018We know you can get back quick from injuries\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cThe injury was not even that bad, it was a four or five-week, six-week injury. So you know they looked into that as well.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the physio said to me, \u2018Why are we actually doing this medical? You know you\u2019re not going to pass it\u2019. But we did it anyway just to check. And, yeah, I had a little tear in my knee.<\/p>\n \u201cI could have played on with that. I played my last game for Liverpool against Parma at Anfield. We won 5-0 and I played that day with it and it was fine. I just cracked on with it.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I kind of knew that might have been my last game for Liverpool at that moment. So we battered Parma and then I kind of knew that was my big time up, before the move to the Pennines and a chance to go into the Champions League.\u201d<\/p>\n Dominic Matteo spoke to the ECHO on behalf of<\/strong> EPIC Global Solutions.<\/strong><\/a> EPIC Global Solutions is a leading provider of gambling harm prevention and awareness programmes across a range of high-risk sectors, with regular delivery in pro sport including education sessions with clubs from the EFL, SPFL and Premiership Rugby. Operating globally, they also work with the likes of the MLB and NCAA in the US to help educate players and staff on the potential risks involved with gambling, using those who have previous lived experience of gambling-related harm \u2013 such as Dominic \u2013 to help share impactful insight. You can contact EPIC on 01942 494913 and <\/strong>info@epicglobalsolutions.com<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_GettyImages-2247395195.jpg\")
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