Former Liverpool and Chelsea star Yossi Benayoun was dubbed as a boy wonder during his childhood, making headlines thanks to his incredible talent from a young age
13:45, 05 May 2025Updated 13:45, 05 May 2025
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Former Liverpool and Chelsea star Yossi Benayoun was destined for stardom from a young age.
The Israeli midfielder has gone down in history as one of his country's greatest ever footballers, with him dubbed 'The Diamond from Dimona'. Benayoun, who turned 45 on Monday, played 102 times for Israel as well as representing some of England's biggest clubs.
Benayoun was able to live up to the early hype and expectation of his career, as he appeared on the front page of magazines and was dubbed as a 'genius' with a ball at his feet.
During a playing career that spanned 22 years, Benayoun played for ten different club sides, including four of the Premier League's biggest in West Ham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
It didn't take long for Benayoun to attract the interest of Europe's giants, with Dutch club Ajax the first to come calling. Though he originally accepted their offer, Benayoun opted to return to Israel almost immediately.
LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 21: Yossi Benayoun of Liverpool scores his team's second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield on April 21, 2009 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Benayoun bagged a last-gasp equaliser for Liverpool against Arsenal
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"It ripped my family, it was very hard, difficult. My girlfriend, Mirat (now his wife) was also just 15. It was just too hard for everyone, it was just not the right time."
He left Ajax after eight months and joined Israeli outfit Hapoel Be'er Sheva football club, where Benayoun was forced to hitchhike a 60km round trip alongside his father just to attend training sessions. The club were the only team even relatively near his family, who were based in the Negev desert.
"It's a normal life like anybody. My family still live there, in the desert. It's a different life from England but it's my home. It's one of the smallest and poorest cities in Israel," Benayoun claimed.
Benayoun's first taste of European football came in the form of La Liga side Racing Santander, where he made 101 appearances, notching 21 goals in the process.
Yossi Benayoun couldn't stand out at Chelsea and was quickly sent on loan to Arsenal and West Ham
Yossi Benayoun couldn't stand out at Chelsea and was quickly sent on loan to Arsenal and West Ham(Image: GETTY )
These stats pricked the ears of many English sides, including Tottenham and Liverpool, but it was Alan Pardew's West Ham who eventually secured his signature in 2005, for a deal worth around £2.5m.
Two years of solid performances in East London was enough to attract the attention of Premier League titans Liverpool, who signed the midfielder under controversial circumstances.
Ahead of his move to Anfield, Benayoun had actually verbally agreed on a new four-year deal with West Ham - only to go back on his word after hearing of Liverpool's interest. Benayoun did little to endear himself to the West Ham faithful after it emerged he had taken a pay cut to move to Merseyside, such was his desperation to leave.
His Liverpool fate was sealed in July 2007, when the club confirmed they had signed him for a fee of £5m on their club website. Benayoun is looked back on by Liverpool fans fondly, with the midfielder making 92 appearances over the course of three years and providing some memorable goals in the process, such as his last-gasp equaliser in the 4-4 draw at home to Arsenal.
Yossi Benayoun spent a season on loan at The Emirates
Yossi Benayoun spent a season on loan at The Emirates(Image: GETTY )
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Spells at Chelsea and Arsenal followed, though he struggled to make the same impact at either London side, playing just 14 times at Chelsea in a three year period which saw him loaned out to Arsenal and former side West Ham, with neither loan spell proving particularly fruitful. Clearly settled in London, the 2013/14 campaign was spent at QPR, though he duly departed just 16 games and one red card later.
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His tenure at Loftus Road spelled the end of his time in England, before he returned to Israel for the last five years of his career, turning out four different sides from 2014 until he hung up his boots in 2019 at Beitar Jerusalem.
Despite entering journeyman territory over his two decade playing career, the Israeli international maintains his status as a cult Premier League hero to this day.