Sakho snubbed Barcelona, Bayern and Arsenal to make ‘dream’ £17m move to Liverpool

The French defender saw the exit door opened at Paris Saint-Germain in 2013 and opted to head for Anfield over other notable landing spots Mamadou Sakho claims to have snubbed offers from Barcelona, Bayern Munichand Arsenal in order to make a £17 million ($21m) “dream” move to Liverpool in 2013. Despite being a home-grown star and club captain material at Paris Saint-Germain, the highly-rated defender saw the exit door swing open at Parc des Princes. Plenty were prepared to lure him through it, with leading sides across Europe joining the scramble for a much sought-after signature. Liverpool ultimately prevailed in that battle, with Sakho taking the decision to head for Anfield over Camp Nou, the Allianz Arena or Emirates Stadium. Sakho played three full seasons at Anfield, making 80 appearances, and told Stadium Mag of his decision to join the Reds: “When I left Paris Saint-Germain, I had a number of offers from Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Liverpool. “I choose Liverpool because they were one of the clubs of my dreams with a great history. I had the chance to spend four years there in the Reds’ shirt at Anfield with a fantastic crowd. “I had very good relationships with my board and I played alongside great talents like [Luis] Suárez, [Philippe] Coutinho, [Daniel] Sturridge or Steven Gerrard. I lived exceptional moments with those players.”