Former Chelsea winger was “really, really close” to joining Liverpool in 2007 before he completed a move to Stamford Bridge.
The now 44-year-old, who has been retired for the last six years, became a cult hero at the Blues – where he was from 2007 until 2013. In that time, Malouda, who represented the French national team on 80 occasions throughout his career, won the Premier League once, three FA Cups, a Community Shield and of course that infamous Champions League in 2012.
Malouda was named on the bench on the night, coming on with 17 minutes of normal time to go to help Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties and lift the west London club’s first-ever Champions League trophy. It all could have been so different for the Frenchman, though, who looked set to join Liverpool at one point.
The Reds had been in talks with Lyon over a move for Malouda but in July 2007, the French club’s president Jean-Michel Aulas announced they had accepted a £13million offer from Chelsea for the winger. Jose Mourinho, the Blues’ boss at the time, had gotten his man – and the rest, as they say, is history.
“It’s true. Liverpool were really interested in signing me and I almost joined them,” Malouda said to Coin Poker. “At the time, Rafa Benitez was the manager, and my manager at Lyon was Gerard Houllier. There were talks between the two clubs and Gerard really wanted me to join Liverpool because of his experience managing the club.
“I didn’t ever agree a contract with Liverpool. Lyon and Liverpool agreed a transfer fee, but I didn’t ever agree contract terms and, I felt that there were too many people trying to get involved in the deal and push me towards Liverpool, which I really didn’t like.
“Chelsea came in for me and it was clear from day one that Mourinho really wanted to sign me. It was an exciting offer to have because I knew so much about the club because of Didier [Drogba] and there were also a lot of players in the squad that I knew.
“As soon as they came in for me, I knew that they were the club that I wanted to join. I spoke with Lyon and informed them of my decision, explaining why I would prefer to join Chelsea.
“It was really, really close. Obviously it was flattering to have two giants like Liverpool and Chelsea interested in you. Real Madrid also made me an offer that summer as well, but Gerard Houllier kept telling me that I needed to experience playing in the Premier League.
“Liverpool were really competitive at the time. They had just lost in the Champions League final. It was a good option, but Chelsea were always my preference. It was easy for me to adapt there because I knew so many of the players at the club and had a lot of friends there.”
Malouda would go onto play under eight permanent managers during his six-year career at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho brought him in but departed months later, replaced by Avram Grant. Then there were the likes of Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez to follow for Malouda.
Asked who his favourite manager was during his time in SW6, Malouda replied: “All of the Chelsea managers that I played under had different styles of management. Sometimes it was a bit of a rollercoaster because some managers weren’t given lots of time to be successful and implement their ideas.
“If I had to pick the managers that I enjoyed playing under at Chelsea, then I would have to pick Carlo Ancelotti and Guus Hiddink. They had a similar approach to management. Our time with Guus was short, but we won a trophy together with the FA Cup. It was only half a season, but I loved it.
“My one regret is that I didn’t have that much time working with Jose. I would have loved to have worked with him for longer than I did, and I’m hopeful that one day we can work together again in the future. I would love to be part of his coaching staff in the future.
“Of course, I learned something about myself and my game from every single one of the managers that I played under at Chelsea.”
