This former Liverpool star almost started his career as an Everton player but was soon coaxed to Anfield after meeting a coach inside a McDonald's
Stephen Warnock speaks on In The Mixer
Ex-Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock admits he almost started his career at Everton(Image: In The Mixer)
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Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock says he first joined the club instead of rivals Everton after a youth coach approached him in a McDonald's. Warnock went on to make 67 appearances for the Reds and enjoyed a distinguished Premier League career.
The Ormskirk-born defender graduated from the team's academy in the early 2000s and cemented himself as a solid first-team squad player. After leaving in 2007 he would go on to make appearances for England and shine for the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Leeds United.
But, although the 44-year-old started his career with Liverpool, he was originally committed to bitter rivals Everton. This was before an off-the-cuff meeting in a McDonald's.
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"I was playing for a local team. We had a manager who basically built the best of the best in our league," Warnock said on In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet.
"We started playing against Liverpool, Man United and Everton and basically going around these games. That's how we used to get picked up. We didn't have scouts going to every game as you do now.
"Initially, I got picked up by Everton and then played Liverpool a few weeks later. I played well in the game but didn't hear anything. We went to McDonald's on the way home and the Liverpool coach walked in.
Liverpool's Stephen Warnock (left) challenges Tottenham Hotspur's Rohan Ricketts during the Carling Cup quarter-final match at White Hart Lane
The defender almost played for Everton's academy(Image: PA)
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"We were all in there. Hugh McAuley, who was the Liverpool coach, he walked in and said, 'Oh, we missed you after the game. Do you want to come on trial?' So I sacked Everton off, went on trial at Liverpool and I think I was there from the age of like 10.
"It was different. We only trained twice a week. It's not like it is now. Like being taken out of school and the way things happen now. We had one game on a Sunday and that was it.
"But growing up as a Liverpool fan, it was unbelievable. I don't think you realise the magnitude of it, how big it could actually be, or where you could actually get to. I grew up on the Kop. I'm from a split family. Me and my mum are Reds. My dad and my brother are Blues.
Stephen Warnock before the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool FC
Warnock now works as a pundit(Image: Getty)
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"My dad used to have season tickets to Everton. He had three season tickets for me, my brother and him. So I used to go to all the Everton games but sing with the away fans. Then I'd go to Liverpool the week after and stand on the Kop."
On how his dad felt about him playing for Liverpool, Warnock added: "My dad didn't care. He was just like, 'Wherever you're happy and you're playing football, that's all I care about.' My brother is a Blue. Both his boys are Reds. He takes them to Liverpool games. He's not bothered. He's like, 'Well, that's who they support.'"
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