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Football

12th Jan 2023

Wesley Sneijder’s reason for turning down Liverpool made sense, at the time

Callum Boyle

Wesley Sneijder

Sneijder was linked with Premier League moves during his career

Wesley Sneijder has revealed why he opted to join Turkish giants Galatasaray over Liverpool back in 2013.

Speaking on Dutch television, Sneijder revealed that he turned down the move to Anfield as he felt he stood a better chance of winning trophies at Galatasaray.

Sneijder first explained his reason for not joining Liverpool back in 2018 but now, five years on, has doubled down on those claims and doesn’t regret his move to Turkey.

He said: “Many clubs wanted to know when I was leaving Inter, and Liverpool was one of those clubs, so people were surprised I chose Galatasaray. Why Galatasaray and not Liverpool?

“But I am a winner, I play for prizes, so I went to Galatasaray because I thought that I would win more at Galatasaray and be champion than at Liverpool, and I think afterwards that I made the right choice. I have had nice years in Turkey.”

This time however, five years on, the former midfielder admitted he had concerns about English football’s hectic Christmas period.

Wesley Sneijder

‘That was also a conscious choice’

“I once had the choice to join Liverpool or Galatasaray,” Wesley Sneijder told Veronica Offside.

“At that moment, I chose Galatasaray because I wanted to win more trophies and Liverpool was in a [difficult] period… I just chose trophies because that is the best thing that a footballer wants to win, those prizes.

“Also, the fact that I just wanted to be free at Christmas and New Year’s Eve. That was also a conscious choice.”

In his first season at the club (2013-2014), Sneijder didn’t play a game between December 28 and January 26 whereas Liverpool played four Premier League games in that period.

To be fair to the Dutchman, his decision proved to be the right one. During his time in Istanbul, the talented midfielder won eight trophies in a four-and-a-half year spell

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