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£8m attacker says his biggest regret in football was leaving Liverpool

Charles Jones

Fri 28 February 2025 10:45, UK

Leaving a team like Liverpool is never an easy decision.

Indeed, the Reds are one of the most unique and﷽ most historic teams in world football, and, most of the time, the grass isn’t g🐠reener elsewhere.

Many players 🐷have lived to regret leaving Live💧rpool over the years.

Daniel Sturridge regretted leaving Liverpool in 2019, while Jason McAteer regretted his Liverpool departure in 1999.

Speaking on the Obi One Podcast, Ryan Babel has been discussing his 🉐career, aജnd he says that his biggest regret is actually leaving Liverpool to join Hoffenheim for back in 2011.

• READ MORE: Liverpool are definitely interested in signing £45m player who’s already been spottedꦏ at Anfield

Ryan Babel regrets leaving Liverpool

Babe👍l spoke about his biggest regret from his career.

According to the attacker, his biggest regret ✃in football was leaving Liverpool, c🌠laiming that he wasn’t patient enough at Anfield, believing that his fortunes could’ve changed if he’d stayed.

“What is your biggest regret in footballꦦ?” Babel was as✅ked.

“My bigg🌜est regret is leaving Liverpool,” Babel said.

“Really?” The host said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like I w꧑as not patient. The reason, so one of the main reasons ಌwhy I left Liverpool, even though I was frustrated, but I had it good,” Babel said.

“I had a five year contract. At that timeꦅ, I had maybe, I think, one and a half year left on my contract. I left at a time where Liverpool was changing everyone.

“Torres left, players left, new manager came in. So maybe we could have start, I could have start from zero again and show myself, right? And maybe c⛦ould have changed my Liverpool career.”

The role Ryan Babel could’ve played at Liverpool

Babel was only 24 years old when he left Liverpool in 2011, and, realistically, he c𝓰ould potentially have carved out more of a career at Anfield.

Indeed, while Babel was never quite a🦋t that world-class level, he would remain a consistent performer for club and country for a long time after leaving Anfield.

Babel would go on to get 69 international caps in his career, and he’d even return to the Premier League with Fulham at one point where he had a more than🍸 res𓂃pectable record, even at the age of 33.

Had Babel stayed at Liverpool, he easily could’ve been a rotation option in the attack along with an emerging Raheem Sterling over the next few years, and, who knows? Perhaps he could’ve change🏅d the course of the infamous 2013/14 season and helped Liverpool towards a league title.

Babel regrets leaving Liverpoꦏol, and it is interesting to ponder what the꧒ Dutchman could’ve achieved if he’d stayed at Anfield for a little while longer.