Jeremy Jacquet & six more players who’ve snubbed Chelsea for Liverpool | OneFootball

Chelsea have a long history of snatching players away from Liverpool, but what about when it happens in the other direction?

Having won two of the last six Premier League titles, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise when a player decides to snub Chelsea in favour of joining Liverpool.

We’ve gathered seven examples of players deciding to snub Chelsea, in favour of joining Liverpool instead.

Jeremy Jacquet

Liverpool have struck a deal with Rennes to sign Jacquet for up to £60million.

To make things even sweeter, Chelsea had offered exactly the same deal to Rennes, but Jacquet has made his preference between the two clubs clear.

“He’s the real deal,” is how French football expert Julien Laurens described Jacquet to Sky Sports.

“I know he’s only 20, he hasn’t played for France and he hasn’t played in the Champions League or Europa League.

“He has a long way to go but he’s been impressive last season, after they [Rennes] called him back from his loan in the second division, and this season, with Habib Beye.

“You can’t get it wrong. He is going to be amazing.”

Virgil van Dijk

Van Dijk signing for Liverpool in January 2018 is arguably the most influential transfer in modern history for the club.

After completing the deal, former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte admitted that his side had also been keeping tabs on the Dutch star, but Liverpool beat them to the punch.

“For sure, he was our target but as you know, this is football,” Conte said.

“We can have a lot of targets but you must be able to reach those targets. The transfer market is not simple for any club.”

Cody Gakpo

Gakpo rejected advances from both Chelsea and Manchester United before signing for Liverpool in 2023.

“To be honest, the speculation affected me a little bit because it was the first time it had happened to me,” Gakpo told the Daily Mail.

“Then when I heard about interest from Liverpool in the winter, I didn’t think about anything else. There was also Chelsea maybe but I already had my mind made up.”

Alexis Mac Allister

Given Chelsea’s track record of signing Brighton players, it’s amazing that Mac Allister didn’t end up at Stamford Bridge.

While Chelsea and Manchester City tried to sign him, the Argentine midfielder only had eyes for Liverpool.

“The reason why Alexis went to Liverpool is because they showed so much interest in having him on their team,” Mac Allister’s dad, Carlos, told the Liverpool Echo.

“They showed a desire to count on him and we wanted Alexis to go to a team where he could be settled for the start of pre-season; move on the first day of the transfer window – all that stuff.

“Jurgen Klopp was crucial a figure in the transfer. He was talking with Alexis. When he received the phone call from Jurgen it was important in deciding which team he should choose to play for.”

Glen Johnson

In 2009, Chelsea were interested in re-signing Johnson, only for the full-back to snub their advances and join Liverpool instead.

“If a club like Liverpool comes knocking, you obviously immediately have an eye on it and an interest,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“But what swung it was we played for England that summer, just before I signed, and I had a good chat with Stevie (Gerrard).

“And then I spoke to Torres and Alonso as well before signing. I just thought these were some of the best players in the world.

“They don’t need to phone me but they were phoning me to let me know how much they wanted me to join.

“Straight away, I felt like I knew them and it made me feel super welcome before I signed and everything just felt right.”

We’ve spoken to Johnson about his time at Liverpool previously.

Scott Carson

Back in 2005, Chelsea tried to sign Carson from Leeds United, before the shot-stopper decided to join Liverpool instead.

“Chelsea were in for me, but I thought at the time that this game is not all about money,” Carson said after moving to Anfield.

“I know I could have earned a lot with them, but it’s about playing and not just cash.

“If I’d gone to London I’d have been forgotten. I’d have had no chance at Chelsea.”

Alisson Becker

The Brazilian goalkeeper snubbed Chelsea’s advances as the club weren’t in the Champions League at the time of his move.

“I chose Liverpool for the same reasons I went to Roma when I first left Brazil – I thought this would be the best move for my career,” he told FourFourTwo magazine.

“Chelsea were changing their manager and not playing in the Champions League. I’ve also always admired Liverpool’s history.

“This is a club with five European Cups in their trophy cabinet. I really wanted to be part of that history.”