Liverpool academy product and "massive blue nose" Jordan Rossiter was banned from wearing an Everton kit in the gym at Melwood, according to one of his former coaches.
The 26-year-old midfielder, who spent 13 years at Liverpool between 2003 and 2016, graduated from the club's academy system as captain before making five first-team appearances.
He was handed his first-team debut by Brendan Rodgers, aged 17, in a League Cup clash against Middlesbrough, and would even score from 30-yards to become the club's second youngest goalscorer behind Michael Owen.
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Rossiter, who was compared to Steven Gerrard for his leadership qualities, went on to feature in Jurgen Klopp's first game in charge – a Europa League clash against Sion.
But the England youth international would leave Anfield in 2016 to join Scottish Premiership side Rangers.
Now, seven years after leaving the Premier League club, Rossiter's bittersweet spell at Liverpool has been brought up by one of his former academy coaches.
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Karl Robinson, who has since gone on to manage MK Dons, Charlton and Oxford United, described the midfielder as "a massive blue nose" who refused to wear the famous red when training in the gym.
Speaking to the I Had Trials Once podcast, Robinson said: "He was a massive Everton fan so we had to ban him from wearing an Everton kit in the gym, but he hated Liverpool so much that he would just wear Celtic kit instead because he couldn’t bear to put a Liverpool kit on.
“He refused to wear the Liverpool kit because he was such a big Everton fan and that isn’t uncommon because so many players in the Liverpool academy who were local would’ve been Everton fans."
Robinson added: "I’m sure it would have been the same at Everton’s academy where they would have had lads who were massive Liverpool fans.”
Back in 2020, during an interview with The Athletic, a grateful Rossiter opened up about his experience at Liverpool and breaking into the first-team fold under Brendan Rodgers, as well as leaving Anfield to join Rangers.
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“You’ve got to be honest with yourself,” he said. “I was training under Klopp, but not really making an impact.
“The reality was that I wasn’t going to be good enough to play every week at a huge club like Liverpool. Look at the names I was up against. The bar was set so high. We’re talking top pros. There’s no point kidding yourself. They were on a different level.
"I knew I needed to drop down a level or two. I thought I’d have a better chance of playing regularly at Rangers."
He added: “I learned so much from my time at Liverpool. I was like a sponge around Melwood, just trying to absorb all this information. Just looking at how Henderson and (James) Milner conduct themselves — how they prepare, how they lead their lives, picking up little things about recovery, nutrition and gym work. I was lucky to get that insight.
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“It’s superb to see what Liverpool have achieved over the past couple of seasons. They’re going to win the Premier League and they deserve it.”
Featured Image Credit: PA/GettyTopics: Liverpool, Everton, Rangers, Premier League