Why Souness rejected Barcelona when he left Liverpool

Liverpool legend Graeme Souness reveals he rejected the chance to sign for Barcelona when he left the European champions. Graeme Souness lifted Liverpool's fourth European Cup against Roma in 1984 Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has revealed he rejected the chance to sign for Barcelona when he left the European champions in 1984. The Scotland midfielder joined Italian club Sampdoria for £650,000 just weeks after lifting Liverpool's fourth European Cup against Roma. Souness was then one of the world's finest midfielders – he finished sixth in that year's Ballon d'Or – so his decision to swap Anfield for Genoa, rather than one of Europe's heavyweights, was a surprise. "I had to leave Liverpool because my wife at the time was about to inherit money and she had to spend three years out of the country," Souness told BBC Scotland's The Saturday Show.

"I could have got around it somehow, but I decided to go because at that time Italy was the place to go. All the best players in the world were going there. "I got offered a two-year deal at Barcelona, which I turned down because I needed three and, even because of my age, go to the third year. "There were a couple of other clubs in Italy interested, but Sampdoria had been bought by Paolo Mantovani and he