‘I Left Liverpool For Just £4m – I Now Have More La Liga Goals Than Samuel Eto’o’

Liverpool has been blessed with some outstanding footballers in recent years. In addition to the likes of Steven Gerrard and Trent Alexander-Arnold coming through the club’s academy, they’ve had tremendous success in the transfer market, with stellar recruitment. In the last 15 years, they’ve signed stars like Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Luis Suarez, and they’ve rarely missed out on transfers.

However, not everyone has been a success, and one player signed by Brendan Rodgers in 2013 struggled to settle at Anfield. Despite the fact that the club spent around £9 million on him, he only appeared in a few games. He has since gone on to achieve great success elsewhere, and his name is Iago Aspas.

Aspas’ Time at Liverpool

He joined in 2013

After rising through the ranks at Celta Vigo, Aspas established himself in the Spanish club’s senior squad. He began off to a rough start, but he quickly rediscovered form in La Liga and was scoring like crazy when Liverpool came knocking in 2013. The Reds had placed seventh in the Premier League the previous season and were eager to push things to the next level. They signed the Spaniard for roughly £9 million, and things seemed promising. In his debut for the club, he scored and assisted in a pre-season friendly against Preston North End, and Rodgers was highly impressed. In an interview with the Daily Mail, the manager of Aspas stated:

“Iago works hard; he has a trick in and around the box, and he delights the fans. He’s a terrific guy who works extremely hard for his supporters.

“He floats well between the lines and is constantly eager to receive the ball, but what I admire most about him is his will to score goals. He’s looking to develop and collaborate, or to go it alone and get a chance. His goal was an excellent strike.”

However, Aspas’s promising start was short-lived, and he struggled to make an impact in the Liverpool squad once the 2013/14 season began. He was behind Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge in the pecking order and didn’t score his first official goal for the Reds until January 2014. His minutes continued to shrink due to his poor form. Rodgers spoke to the Liverpool Echo after his early problems and remained optimistic about the star, saying: “Iago has a goal-scoring instinct, but in the games so far, he probably hasn’t had the opportunities that have been created for him or that he’s been able to create for himself.

“He has come from Spain to the Premier League; there is a significant difference. He’ll be fine once he gets used to it. We cannot expect too much too soon. He works tirelessly every day, and I expect him to improve and become even better over time.

Unfortunately for Rodgers and Aspas, the forward did not improve significantly and was loaned out to Sevilla after only one season at Anfield. The La Liga club used a clause in his contract to sign him from the Reds for just £4.4 million in 2015, only to sell him back to Celta Vigo the same day. He left Liverpool with only one goal in 15 appearances and is regarded as one of the worst players in club history. However, his return to Spain resulted in a resurgence.

Aspas has been tremendous for Celta Vigo.
In his second stint with the club, he has scored more than 150 goals.

While his time in England didn’t work out, Aspas returned to Spain and was an instant success in his first campaign back with Celta Vigo. He scored 18 goals in all competitions during the 2015/16 season and hasn’t slowed down in the decade after. He’s scored 212 goals for the club throughout two spells with them and any troubles he had in England feel like a distant memory at this point.

Iago Aspas’ La Liga Career

Season

Team

Appearances

Goals

Assists

2012/13

Celta Vigo

34

12

7

2014/15

Sevilla

16

2

1

2015/16

Celta Vigo

35

14

5

2016/17

Celta Vigo

32

19

4

2017/18

Celta Vigo

34

22

5

2018/19

Celta Vigo

27

20

6

2019/20

Celta Vigo

37

14

3

2020/21

Celta Vigo

33

14

13

2021/22

Celta Vigo

37

17

7

2022/23

Celta Vigo

37

12

4

2023/24

Celta Vigo

35

9

10

2024/25

Celta Vigo

18

8

3

He still remembers his time with Liverpool fondly, however, and in quotes shared by the Mirror, he stated:

“It was their best year in ten, fifteen years, and they came close to winning the league.” [Daniel] Sturridge scored 21, Luis [Suárez] 31, so it’s understandable that I didn’t have many opportunities. It didn’t bother me; I recognised that I couldn’t compete with them at that level.

“It’s difficult, of course; I’d played every game for Celta. However, there are times when you are unable to play, and you are aware that they will win without you. You have to vent your frustration on the training ground, and the sessions were at least good.”

The striker recently scored his 163rd La Liga goal, surpassing the legendary Samuel Eto’o, who had 162 goals in the Spanish league. Not bad.