I wished to join Arsenal ahead of Liverpool - but I don't regret my decision despite broken promises

Ryan Babel has admitted that he was unhappy during his Liverpool career, though he doesn’t regret his decision to join the Reds.

The Netherlands international moved to Anfield in an £11.5m from Ajax in the summer of 2007, and would end up making 146 appearances in three and a half seasons at the club. However, only 65 of those came from the start as his game-time gradually decreased throughout his spell on Merseyside.

Only 20 at the time of his move to Liverpool, Babel admits his Reds stint proved to be disappointing. Hinting at broken promises from the club, he revealed how he struggled mentally after making the move.

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“It was a little bit disappointing for myself because when I eventually chose Liverpool,” he told the Athletic. “I was promised to get time and was told they would really work with me.

“But from day one, I was on my own, left to figure stuff out myself and that was very tough.

“I was 20 years of age, it was my first time living abroad, the first time living by myself because I was still at my parents’ home in Holland. So it was a lot of new challenges that I had to deal with at once. That made it very difficult.

“I had times where I felt unhappy, not completely myself or was anxious. I think now we live in an era where you want to support a player who is vulnerable. I came from a time when showing weakness was unacceptable. You would have been written off by some.”

Yet despite such struggles, Babel doesn’t actually regret making the move to Liverpool - even if he would have preferred to join Arsenal at