The forward never made the grade at Anfield but is regarded as his current club's greatest player.
Iago Aspas flopped at Liverpool but is regarded as a Celta Vigo legend
Iago Aspas flopped at Liverpool but is regarded as a Celta Vigo legend (Image: Getty)
A former Liverpool flop is set to be honoured with a statue by his current club, where he is regarded as their greatest ever player. The striker in question joined the Reds in 2013 from Celta Vigo, having progressed through the Spanish club's academy system. He arrived with a reputation as a proven goalscorer in La Liga, but was unable to find his feet in the Premier League, scoring only once in just 15 appearances for the Merseyside giants. He was later loaned to Sevilla before returning to Celta Vigo, where he picked up where he initially left off by scoring for fun. The forward went on to become captain and is approaching 600 appearances for the club, having scored 223 goals in the process.
The player in question is of course Iago Aspas, who is considered one of Liverpool's worst signings in modern history but is lauded as a legend at Celta Vigo.
His impact at the club has been so profound that a stand at their stadium, the Estadio de Balaidos, has been named after him. The club's Tribuna stand was recently rebranded the Iago Aspas Tribuna stand in recognition of the striker's glittering career.
Further plans are in place for a statue of Aspas to be erected outside the ground, which is currently undergoing a major renovation.
A budget of around £169,344 has been allocated for the statue in honour of Aspas, who is nicknamed O Rei das Bateas, or The King of the Mussel Rafts.
It's been over a decade since the striker left Liverpool after just one season on their books. He was never really trusted by manager Brendan Rodgers despite being backed by the club's data team and was unable to make a lasting impact.
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Aspas is set to have a statue built outside Celta Vigo's refurbished stadium
Aspas is set to have a statue built outside Celta Vigo's refurbished stadium (Image: Getty)
Aspas is mostly remembered by Reds supporters for his dreadful corner which led to a Chelsea counter and eventually their second goal when they secured victory at Anfield in 2014.
He previously insisted that he had no regrets over his ill-fated move to Liverpool, telling BBC Sport: "I didn't play as much as I wanted to, but it is a big club with big players. We were really fighting to win the league right up to the end.
"I had lot of expectations in pre-season, I did quite well and then, after Luis Suarez came back, I didn't have a lot of minutes to play.
"Maybe I could have enjoyed more minutes there and consolidated my football in the UK and enjoyed the Champions League, but if you are not happy, not enjoying being out on the pitch, I can never get the best talent out of me like that.
"So I thought it best to come back to La Liga, come back home, and to play football with my people. That has proved to be good for my football, my good characteristics."