12 Jul 2012

"We've agreed a deal" - Morasano confirms LFC star is close to leaving. Bad news?

After a frustrating stop-start season under Kenny Dalglish, it seems that popular Liverpool midfielder Maxi Rodriguez has had enough of warming the bench, and is on the verge of leaving Anfield for good.

According to Pablo Morosano, secretary of Argentine club Newell's Old Boys, an agreement is already in place to bring Rodriguez back to his homeland. Morasano told Ole:

"We are waiting for official news about the end of Maxi's link with Liverpool.

"There is an ongoing contact and we have a deal agreed with him.

"However, as long as his exit from Liverpool has not been settled, we cannot announce it."


It will be a shame to see Maxi go, especially since he is arguably one of the few players in the current Liverpool squad who is ideally suited to Brendan Rodgers' style of play.

Having said that, after making only 10 league starts last season, why would Maxi stay? Imagine how galling it must be to see the manager repeatedly choose chronic underachievers like Henderson and Downing ahead of you in a desperate bid to justify their price tags.

If Maxi stayed, would things be any different under Rodgers? Unfortunately, probably not. Rodgers would probably play him more than Dalglish, but new players coming in will have to be accommodated in the team, and Maxi would almost certainly make way, which is why now is probably the right time for the Argentine to leave.

Jaimie Kanwar


51 comments:

  1. Agreed. A player whose commitment can't be faulted, who delivered whenever he was given a chance and who was treated very badly by the last regime.  Exactly the kind of player we need in fact. Ver sorry to see him go but don't blame him at all and wish him all the best. Good luck Maxi - YNWA.

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  2. 3 parties make a deal the player, the seller and the buyer. We only have agreement with 2 of the 3 parties!!!

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  3. Can't really keep him if he don't want to stay.

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  4. ' If Maxi stayed would things be any different under Rodgers? Unfortunately, probably not..............'

    An excellent and intelligent player much underused. From your comments, I take it that you are underwhelmed by Rodgers - or am I missing the point?   

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  5. Is it true we just signed Borini?

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  6. Jaimie Kanwar is underwhelmed by everyone and everything...except for the absolute drivel he writes!

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  7. Three managers aren't wrong ..seen maxi regularly produce half good games ..half shocking ..you can't compare him to Henderson ..a great young player ...moving to a new club for a big fee and played out of position for. most of the season ...in two years time you will be telling everyone how you got it wrong ..just like all the people who don't go the match used to say lucas was shocking !

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  8. maxi thanks for your shift.  but cos of is age its the best move 4 both parties .he needs to play not warm the bench at his time of his life .thanks and good luck

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  9. He's not leaving! 

    He's got another year and he's on 80-90K a week!

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  10. Love Maxi he's a great player but his wages are pretty high because we got him on a free - if he leaves I thank him and wish him well

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  11. Kenny was a poor judge of real talent. He was under the impression that the more expensive a player was the better he was. We all now know that is not always true because Downing, and Carroll just to name a few couldn't justify their  expensive price tags. These expensive flops ultimately cost Kenny his job. It was painful to watch bad performers rewarded with starts week after  week while talented vets were benched.  Maxi and Kuyt deserved more respect from Daglish. I would go ahead to say that i feel that Kuyt's decision to leave was partly based on his treatment by Kenny and same for Maxi

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  12. sad news. wasted by kenny

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  13. Underwhelmed?  Definitely not.  I'm behind Rodgers 110%.  The reality of the situation is though that Maxi is 31; new players will be coming in, and they'll need to be played.  If he stayed, I've no doubt that Maxi would play more under Rodgers than he did under Dalglish, but the damage is done now.

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  14. Lol, when he first signed and again after a half year I remember asking this website what people thought of Maxi, myself thinking it was a good piece of business. Of course the Rafa haters called it a poor signing, a disgrace to the shirt, now a few years later and everyone is sad he might leave, oh how we hated Rafa and everything he did for the club

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  15. decent player,had goals in his game which we lack in our midfield.he was criminally underused last season.him,suarez,kuyt and bellamy always looked a handful.

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  16. Most fans didn't hate Rafa.

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  17. I love dalglish, always will, but his decision not to make more of Maxi was definitely one of his worst. I remember seeing an interview with Dalglish where he said something along the lines of - 'I don't base my selection on statistics, I don't care about statistics but what the players do in training. If I did, I'd play Maxi every game because he has the best attacking statistics at the club.' Ridiculous on two levels. Maxi had some of the best stats because he was the most effective attacker on a consistent basis and should have been playing much much more regularly. Secondly, surely that just undermines Maxi himself to hear Dalglish say that in public. Using a single player to undermine the use of statistics by saying, 'statistics must be nonsense otherwise a player like Maxi would be play every game and everyone knows Maxi is rubbish!'

    Good luck to the lad. Hope he stays but I think he'd probably still spend a lot of time on the bench and deserves to be starting every game for a very good team somewhere.

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  18. Stevie heighway fan10:35 pm, July 12, 2012

    Half shocking??? no he was consistent...a lot of fans probably including you don't understand what maxi brought to the team , you probably only noticed him when he scored? being ignored by hodgson and dalglish is more a statement of the managers and their playing style as opposed to maxi. Maxi saved both these managers consistently despite total disrespect from them. 

    regarding henderson...i dont see the comparison with lucas...some of us where not stupid enough to discount Lucas. we knew that he was an understudy put into a situation b4 he was ready ..we knew he had talent and that his regular call up to the full brazil squad wasn' t luck...we realised that he was originally and mistakenly touted as an attacking midfielder but in actual fact he was a DM  in a european mode as opposed to what the media/simple fans all ways want which is a lung busting non thinking blood and guts midfielder ...like emm jordan henderson. i promise you henderson is definelty an above average english player no more no less.....

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  19. williams s.etete10:46 pm, July 12, 2012

    am so sad to hear these and its painful to Maxi leaves because he is a very good player which he (maxi) has a lot to give to us in this new manager role,but this is what kenny can give to us but kenny can't go un punished.

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  20. Shit article as always Jaimie! Why do you feel the need to always end you article titles with a question?

    Stupid comments by most too. I can't normally be bothered to comment but I felt it impossible to hide my irritation by you all.

    But no seriously, I'm sure you do all know more about football than Kenny Dalglish. Steve Highway fan... You're a deluded dick!

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  21. He had his day, we need to be looking to the future. Just like P.S.G, they just bought Ibrahimovic and Silva from Milan for £50mill. So I hope Carroll goes there for a nice fee. Berlusconi's son rates him, he he.

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  22. Quotes from the gaffa himself saying that he'd love Maxi to stay because Maxi would best understand the kind of football that he wants to implement. Apparently Maxi and his family are struggling with the location and the player himself hasn't got a great mastery of English. Similar story to one we've heard a number of times. Spanish speaking players have so many places in the world where they can play top level football without having to make massive cultural adjustments, but I don't think Liverpool city is one of them. Not a slight on the place itself, just that if you don't learn the language and engage with the locals then life is probably going to be pretty boring.  
    Still, it's good news that Rodgers rates him highly and would like to see him stay. Maxi obviously has quality and it's been a strange career for him here. He's an Argentine internal FFS, how can he not do well in the Premier League? Hopefully Rodgers and Maxi have some good talks and come to an understanding. 

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  23. I'd say the damage was done before kenny took the reins, Im surprised maxi waited this long to move. Its hard to believe 3 managers wasted his talents.

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  24. YES, my secret special contact that is definitely not made up says we will be announcing it shortly

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  25. Maxi is a good player with unquestionable commitment to the club.  If you look at Maxi, Henderson and some of the other players whom people were hounding, they are good players. 

    But football is a team's game. The reason for the under performance of these players is due to the playing system advocated by the manager. It is all about how the manager moulds the whole team and brings the best out of each players. Of course, manager's motivation and clear instructions also comes into play. That is why we have a manager for the team. Good individual players alone will not work. Even Messi can't do the job alone.

    I am always puzzled why Lucas was rubbished by people in the past. He has been a good player all along. We have a good collection of players in the current LFC squad. We just need a manager to mould them into an effective playing unit with an effective playing philosophy. Hopefully, Brendan is the man. 

    Maxi would suit Brendan's style but the man has done his dues in LFC and we thank him for his stay at LFC and best wishes to him.

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  26. Receive a nice fee from Milan? No chance

    They loan players from you and then strangle the life out of you (straight after pinning your hand to the bar with a stiletto ala Luca Brasi)

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  27. I was in Liverpool when Aquilani was signing and discussed the immense cultural / lifestyle differences with my mate.

    Borini has spent time abroad and by all accounts is a consummate professional, and speaks of BR as an uncle who understands him.

    Maxi would be excellent in new setup but family happiness tops the lot. Anyone with kids can understand that. Hope he picks the best option for his family.

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  28. Actually, when Lucas came to the club, he WAS actually an attacking midfielder, an award winning attacking midfielder in fact, he was bought as an understudy for Gerrard, and when Alonso and then Mascherano left, he filled the void left by them and has turned into a world class defensive midfielder. Just shows the talent of the lad

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  29. Nope, just editor-in-chief of this site

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  30. I'd say 4 since I don't think Rafa used him as much as he could have (though that could be because he wanted to be him in).

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  31. No, Not any rate we shall allow Maxi to leave. He is a class player overlooked by kenny in order to justified his purchase. He must play before Henderson, Downing etc

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  32. hope he stays, was our best passer last year, and third most goals if my memory doesn't serve me wrong.. always at the back post when someone runs trough the defense and passes in front of goal.. to bad he and bellamy didn't get more playtime last year.. would hate to see them both leave :S

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  33. Maxi has been good for Liverpool he is in his 30s and maybe the young fresh approach is the way to go only hope they are replacing him with a top quality younger player.

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  34. Liverpool success sign the Borini  ??? 

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  35. He maybe 31 but so is Gerrard. Bellamy is also on the wrong side of 30.

    Doesn't mean he cannot perform another season. I was one of many fans that was bemused to see Maxi benched after his scintillating displays with hattricks at the tail end of the 2010-2011 season which helped Kenny make the managerial position his own.

    He was an Argentinian international an ex Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid and Boca Juniors player who had the game intelligence and ability to cause havoc in the opposition penalty box. He was making assists, getting on to the end of crosses and had one of the highest (if not the highest) pass completion rate in the team. Goals per minutes must be up there too!

    There were many matches last season when I was looking at our dire position and shaking my head when I saw the bench (Maxi, Aurelio, Coates and Kuyt) but of course no changes until the 65th minute no matter how awful we were.

    Anyway....with Lucas, Aquaman and Cole returning we may just be overly congested in MF even though this is the main area we need to improve to stand a chance of scraping a 4th spot finish.  With fluid passing, domination of possession and constant flow of chances being created Suarez will flourish and our entire team will look better. It is just too bad one of our best passers may not take part...

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  36. It will have to be a player of the quality of Di Maria or Lavezzi to replace him. That's the sort of talent it will take!

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  37. IT will take a player of the class of Di Maria or Lavezzi! That's the kind of quality it will take to replace him. Let's hope Joe Cole has improved during his stint in Lille.

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  38. Its an educational lesson when you watch Maxi play. I kept an eye on what he does during a game, he jogs into pockets of space and reads the game very well when Liverpool have possession, and can read the intent of other players as well. When he does receive the ball he is able to pass it on to another player and doesn't over think. For all of Downing's "ability", he plays like a headless chicken. Maxi's calmness and direct running into the box is what Downing should be learning from. 

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  39. Most fans on this site did, back in the day.

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  40. Plus BR wants Maxi to stay

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  41. Lucas has turned into quite a player but not at 'world class' level yet, in my view.

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  42. If Brendan really wants Maxi to stay, then i think he can convince Maxi to stay because he was quite content with being a squad player at Liverpool and he said so himself but last season was just a joke he was never really played and the way he was handled by Kenny, anyone would like to leave. 

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  43. get rid, reduce wages and give suso n stirling playing time. If we are building for the future then start using the youth with the understanding that 4th spot is not our priority but establishing a young team who are young enough to adapt to the new football being played and will be able to contribute for years to come. I would also get rid of skrtel if he is wanting out and use coates and kelly instead. Now that rogers is in and he has a great brand of football, we all need to get behind him and give him a chance to bring the style of football we all know he can bring. hopefully we are not here in 6 months and i am trying to defend him against people who want instant success!!!

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  44. HAHA people saying throw in the youth and the league doesn't matter too much this year as we are building, are the same people complaining at Christmas when we are bottom 10. Give youth a chance when we are winning games, lets not throw them in too soon. Suso is so lightweight right now, he would get killed in the league

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  45. errrm...i think you mean yes - fee agreed. see BBC website !

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  46. rooney, fowler, owen, wallcott fabregas, and i could go on and on all made debuts and where in the team from the ages of around 19 and onwards. if your good enough your old enough and i remeber fowler all them years ago, helooked as skinny as a smackhead but did that effect him scoring??? in fact both him and own got worse when they put weight on and got older!!

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  47. How big are the following players: Iniesta, Xavi & Messi? If I'm not mistaken, they appear to have done rather well and haven't "got killed" whilst playing football. For that matter what age and size was Michael Owen when he burst not just onto English football, but World football? Suso has been arguably one of Spain's best players in the Under 19 Euros and he's coming up against some extremely big lads and appears to be still in the land of the living. We have been holding back young players for years at Liverpool. Were Suso and Stirling at Arsenal they would have played a lot of first team football by now, and both they and the team would be better for it.

    Regarding Maxi. He has not been given a chance by successive managers, whilst infinitely inferior players have been played week in and week out. His strike rate was top notch when you consider how little playing time he was given. It is a shame that he appears to be on his way, as he is exactly the type of player who would fit in to BR's style of play.

    I wish him all the best wherever he goes.

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  48. Couldn't agree more mate. Owen was 17 when he made his first team bebut for Liverpool. He was 18 when he sliced through the Argentinian defence to score one of the best goals any Englishman has ever scored in international football. As you said "If you're good enough you're old enough".

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  49. cheikhabdou gaye4:09 pm, July 13, 2012

    maxi has to stay he will always be a good option for livpool dont let him go

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  50. Sad to see that the official website just announced his departure.  Unfortunate for someone who was treated unfairly (IMO) this past season and had some great moments with us, especially in the latter half of his LFC career when he started getting himself into the box and scoring some goals.  Let's hope there's an ill wind to this, perhaps opening the door for Sterling to break into the team?

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