‘I Don't Like Him,' When 17-Year-Old Promising Liverpool Midfielder Snubbed Real Madrid Due To Sergio Ramos

Liverpool’s rising star Harvey Elliot snubbed Real Madrid because of their captain, Sergio Ramos, before joining his current team in the summer of 2019.

A product of Fulham’s youth academy, Elliot, reportedly was called to Santiago Bernabeu in a bid to convince him to join Real Madrid ahead of the 2019-20 season. When Elliot reached a room "with Sergio Ramos’ shirt hanging on the wall", the 17-year-old was offered to meet the Real captain, an offer that he blatantly turned down.

While it would have been a lucrative offer for the teenager, he chose to discuss it because of Ramos’ role in Mohamed Salah’s unfortunate injury during the 2018 Champions League final in Kyiv.

It may be noted that Elliot’s father is a huge Liverpool fan and that explained his brutal reaction against Ramos, who is a Bernabeu legend, having won over 20 trophies since his Real debut in 2005.

"No, it's okay, thanks. I don't like him after what he did to Mo Salah," Elliott told The Athletic.

Apart from Real Madrid, the young winger rejected offers from other big clubs such as Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Chelsea, and Manchester City before inking a contract with Liverpool for an undisclosed fee.

He made his first-team debut in a League Cup match last September and at 16 years and 174 days, Elliot became the youngest-ever player to start a match for Liverpool and second-youngest to feature in a competitive fixture behind Jerome Sinclair.

While the Englishman is a regular player in Liverpool’s youth team, his fondness for Salah has only grown over the last year or so.

“Mo is the King. Going up against him in training I learn a lot of things. I idolize him a lot. Even in the gym, he helps and tells me to do higher weights to push myself even more. He’s a really big influence on the young players,” Elliot said further in the interview.

The former Fulham player, who is regarded as the future Reds star, has made seven appearances for the first-team this season (3 FA Cup, 3 League Cup, and 1 Premier League), but is yet to score a goal for the senior side.