I was stupid asking to leave Liverpool - the manager was mad at me, froze me out and made me cry
Anthony Le Tallec has hit out at Rafa Benitez and blamed his former Liverpool manager for derailing his career.
Gerard Houllier signed the forward alongside Florent Sinama-Pongolle from Le Havre in 2001, with the highly-rated pair remaining on loan with the French club for two years before officially joining the Reds in the summer of 2003 when still only 18 years old.
The Frenchman would make 23 appearances during his first season at Anfield, scoring just once, before leaving for Saint-Etienne on loan in the summer of 2004 after Benitez had replaced Houllier.
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Le Tallec had asked his new manager if he could leave temporarily, with France Under-21s coach, Raymond Domenech, unimpressed with the attacking duo’s progress during their first season at Anfield.
“It is abnormal for boys of their age to play so rarely. It is a true problem,” he said at the time, as quoted by LFC HIstory. “When I think their coach is a former coach from the national team! He is not allowed to sign them and not play them. It is a mess.”
Benitez granted Le Tallec’s request, and revealed he had tried to sign both him and Pongolle during his time at Valencia.
"We tried to sign Sinama and Le Tallec for Valencia,” he said. “My scout said that he had seen two very good players - but Liverpool paid a lot of money for them so it came to nothing.
“We knew Le Tallec was the best player in the Under-17 World Cup, and Sinama was the top scorer. There's definitely the potential there - they are both good players. They need to play at this level and then they will get more confidence."
However,
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