I was close to going to Real Madrid – but as soon as Liverpool came in, that was it

Harvey Elliott looks back on his decision to snub Real Madrid and join Liverpool instead with no regret. Before his arrival at Anfield, Elliott was one of the most exciting young prospects in world football.

Ahead of his move to Merseyside, Elliott had become the then youngest player to ever feature in the Premier League when he came on as a substitute for Fulham in May 2019 aged 16 years and 30 days. Fast forward to the present day, and Elliott may be involved against the Spanish giants tonight (Wednesday), having made the bench for the 3-2 away victory over Southampton after returning from a foot injury.

The Reds play host to Carlo Ancelotti's side at Anfield in what is a crucial match for both teams' hopes of finishing high in the Champions League group stage. Last year, Elliott looked back on his decision to choose Jurgen Klopp over Zinedine Zidane five years ago.

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While speaking to the We Are Liverpool podcast, Elliott was asked about his decision, and said: "It was just a mixture of things to be honest. I was close to going to Madrid and then I think Liverpool came in.

"As soon as I heard they had come in, that was it. My heart was set on it, just because of being a Liverpool fan, all the family and it was my dad’s dream to play for Liverpool himself, but he didn’t quite make it.

"But my little brother as well, is a massive supporter, probably one of the biggest I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s always coming to me with information that I didn’t even know and he doesn’t even play for the team.

“I’d be like, ‘oh, where did you get that from’. and he would be like, ‘oh, I don’t know, I heard it from such and such in the player’s lounge or whatever’.”

Elliott has made 120 appearances for Liverpool, contributing 10 goals and 14 assists. He enjoyed his best campaign in a Reds shirt last season, recording three goals and assisting six more.

Injuries have prevented him from making an impression under Slot this season. Before the victory over Southampton, Slot also admitted that not being able to call on the England U21 international has been a big blow. He said: "We always want all of our players available and it was a blow for him and for us that he got injured for such a long time, because I think he has been out for three months now.

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"Now we also have to give him time to come back to his normal level. I just spoke about Ibou Konate, who was out from playing football for maybe two or three or four months because he didn’t play at the end of the season and didn’t play in the Euros; as a result of that, his first game against Man United in pre-season wasn’t his best.

"That is something which is completely normal for a football player, and this is something we have to take into consideration with Harvey as well. Yes, he is training with us again but that is different than being on the top of your game immediately again.

"So we have to give him time for this as well, but I am very fortunate that he is back, especially with the amount of games coming up in the upcoming two, three or four months.”