‘Gerard Houllier wanted me to compete with one of the best young midfielders in England when I joined Liverpool – he was talking about Steven Gerrard, of course’ Salif Diao on the challenge he faced after joining Liverpool

Salif Diao celebrates after scoring the fourth goal for Liverpool in their 5-0 Champions League win against Spartak Moscow at Anfield in October 2002 — Salif Diao joined Liverpool in the summer of 2002 (Image credit: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Salif Diao has revealed the Gerard Houilier sales pitch that convinced him to join Liverpool in 2002.

The midfielder had enjoyed an impressive two-year spell with French side Sedan when the 2002 World Cup came around, a tournament in which Senegal upset the odds by opening the tournament with a victory over holders France before progressing to the quarter-finals.

While that showing put the likes of Diao and El Hadj Diouf on the fans’ radar, Liverpool had already done their homework on the former Monaco youngster and secured a deal shortly before the tournament had begun.

Salif Diao on his Liverpool move

As he looks back on the £5million move that was agreed before the action in Japan and South Korea, Diao explains how the Reds’ interest came about.

“Before the World Cup, Liverpool were the first club that were really keen to sign me,” the 49-year-old tells FourFourTwo.

Gerard Houlier bought Diao to Anfield (Image credit: Getty Images)

Frenchman Gerard Houllier was in charge of the Reds at the time and he had laid out a specific vision for Diao’s role in the side and what that would mean moving forward.

“Gerard Houllier told me about his plan for Liverpool’s midfield,” he continues. “At the time they had Danny Murphy and Didi Hamann in there.

“Houllier said to me, “I want to sign you because I want to put you in competition with one of the best young midfielders in England.”

“He was talking about Steven Gerrard, of course.”

Gerrard had just turned 22 that summer and after scoring his first international goal in the 5-1 rout of Germany during the qualification campaign, he had been ruled out of the tournament with a groin injury.

LIVERPOOL - OCTOBER 26: Goran Bunjevcevic of Totteham Hotspur and Salif Diao of Liverpool in action during the FA Barclaycard Premiership match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on October 26, 2002 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) — Diao cost the Reds £5million (Image credit: Getty Images)

But Houllier knew he had a special talent on his hands and a player he could build a team around by utilising players like the Senegal international.

Diao continues: “He said about Gerrard, “I have this top player that can do everything. He can tackle, he can score goals. But he lacks a little practical discipline and I think you could be a good match.”

“I agreed to sign for Liverpool because they were the club prepared to do the deal there and then. They announced my signing after the World Cup.”

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For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

With contributions from

Andy Greeves