Michael Owen remembers crying when the realisation of his departure from Liverpool sank in.
Owen joined Real Madrid in 2004 for £8million plus the legendary Antonio Nunez in part-exchange.
It brought to an end eight phenomenal years in the Anfield first team, having emerged from the club’s youth system.
Owen lasted just one year in Spain before returning to the Premier League with Newcastle, Manchester United and Stoke, retiring in 2013.
Having not opened a bank account until he was 38, it should perhaps come as no surprise that leaving Liverpool had him in tears.
“The last thing I thought was that I was going to leave Liverpool,” he told FourFourTwo.
“Eventually I agreed. But do you know when you sign something and think there’s no going back?
“I remember crying my eyes out as I went off to the airport thinking ‘What am I leaving behind?’.
“We were on a pre-season tour in America and my agent phoned me while I was in my room with Carragher, who got wind of what we were talking about.
“I put down the phone and he said, ‘Pfft, don’t go. They’ve got Raul, Ronaldo and Fernando Morientes – you won’t get a game.’
“I just had this overriding feeling towards it. I thought ‘if I do go, then I’ve already played for Liverpool for a long time and, hopefully, I could always come back’.
“I had to go and sample it – the Galacticos, that white kit, where everyone prances about like an angel, that amazing stadium, a different culture.”