**Divock Origi has revealed his Liverpool cult hero status nearly never materalised.**
Origi announced his retirement from football on Monday after two years without playing and six month since his contract with AC Milan was terminated.
The Belgium international became a fan favourite in eight years at Anfield, where he won six honours including a Premier League title and the Champions League.
He produced a number of influential goals including a late Merseyside derby winner against Everton and the winner in the Champions League semi-final with Barcelona.
But Origi has now disclosed that his time with the Reds was almost cut short following his return from a season-long loan with Wolfsburg in summer 2018.
Wolves had made an approach for the out-of-favour forward but he turned down the move and became a key contributor to Jurgen Klopp’s success-laden period.
“When I came back from Wolfsburg \[on loan in 2018\], I was supposed to leave Liverpool,” Origi wrote in the Players’ Tribune.
“Wolves came with an offer of £30 million, and it made sense to go. I was out of the team. I wasn’t playing at all.
“But when I prayed about it, for some reason it didn’t feel right. Something kept telling me to stay.
“And that’s when my faith kicked in. I can’t explain it, but I just felt like Liverpool was where God wanted me to be.
“I thought, ‘it might not make sense now, but something good will come from this’.
“I stayed in Liverpool, and the first six months were extremely tough. Like I said, I wasn’t playing. I was doing heavy 5ks when I wasn’t in the matchday squad.
“Even during the 11-v-11 games at training I couldn’t participate. I had to be on the sidelines watching.
“But Klopp was always there. I knew he believed in me. He’d always say, ‘hey, keep training like this. Keep going’.
“In private, I was training even more than anyone knew.”