Rodgers: Sigurdsson demands scuppered Liverpool Switch

Brendan Rodgers today said Gylfi Sigurdsson’s wage demands scuppered the midfielder’s move to Anfield.

Sigurdsson completed his move to Tottenham this week, having at one stage looked odds-on for a move to Liverpool. Spurs paid Hoffenheim a fee of around £8m for the 22-year-old’s services.

Rodgers admitted he had held talks with the player about a move to Liverpool, but said he was not willing to pay over the odds in order to secure a deal.

‘He wasn’t playing at Hoffenheim, I brought him to Swansea and he did very well for me there, scoring seven goals in 19 games and was very good,’ said the Reds boss, who succeeded Kenny Dalglish just over a month ago.

‘He and I both sat and spoke and believed that playing football was going to be the most important aspect for him.

‘But obviously it was important financially so we agreed a deal for him to go to Swansea and that was wrapped up.

‘I then became the Liverpool manager and that then wasn’t something that was going to happen at Swansea so he then had a choice of where he wanted to go.

‘I knew what the market was and I wasn’t prepared to pay anything over what I had known was agreed before.

‘Liverpool would have provided Gylfi with a wonderful opportunity to perform with a manager that he knows and at a club which is a real footballing institution.

‘But he’s decided to go to Tottenham, for whatever reason.

Quite frankly I’m happy that he signed for Spurs. He had the chance to play for one of the world’s most prestigious and respected clubs but instead he opted Spurs just because they offered him better wages. Also glad to see Rodgers not overpaying for players (who don’t deserve it) which has been one of our main problems in the last few seasons.

Share with us your opinion. Do you think Liverpool will regret missing out on Sigurdsson??