Mohamed Sissoko was a firm favourite at Liverpool and has never lost affection for the club.
19 years after arriving at Anfield from Valencia in a £6 million deal, Mohamed Sissoko has paid an emotional homage to Liverpool. Anfield supporters adored Sissoko, who was brought in by Rafael Benitez after the Spaniard had guided the team to the Champions League title. He played a major role in his first season at the club, appearing 46 times as the Reds won the FA Cup in Cardiff.
But in February of that same year, while participating in a Champions League loss to Benfica, he also had a horrific eye injury. He was just 21 years old when Benfica midfielder Beto booted him in the eye. He was then carried to a nearby hospital in Lisbon on a stretcher.
The hospital’s clinical director, Dr. Joao Paco, attested to Sissoko’s loss of vision. “The right side’s vision will be compromised, but the prognosis is guarded,” he stated. It’s premature to tell if it will be 20% or 80%; we don’t know now. You must bide your time for the ensuing 48 or 72 hours. He had an eye damage that resulted in bruises. The building did not appear to be destroyed.”
After an incredible 3-3 draw with West Ham at the Millennium Stadium, Sissoko miraculously returned a few months later to play in Liverpool’s FA Cup victory on penalties. However, his form collapsed in his second season with the club, and in January 2008, he went to Juventus.
He would subsequently acknowledge that the eye injury had changed him forever.
Later, Sissoko became viral after breaking down in tears on live television while covering a Champions League match in France and seeing messages from Liverpool fans. He would describe the messages as “heartwarming” in a sentimental section.
He would also show that his emotional connection to the club had not changed by taking to Instagram to reply to the club’s post commemorating his 19th anniversary of joining.
He declared: “Even though 19 years have gone, the wave of recollections hasn’t stopped. I am grateful to have had the honor of representing a team as illustrious as Liverpool and to have received the supporters’ unfailing support along the way—a devotion that endures to this day.”
After residing in Hong Kong, Mexico, China, and India, Sissoko retired in 2020.
