France World Cup winner reveals wife stopped him from joining Liverpool

France 1998 World Cup winner Marcel Desailly has revealed how close he came to signing for Liverpool.

The legendary former AC Milan defender joined Chelsea in the summer of 1998 following the World Cup victory over Brazil on home soil, and captained the Blues to an FA Cup trophy in 2000.

However it all might have been different with Desailly revealing he was interested in joining Liverpool, who had made him an offer, before his wife talked him out of the move to Merseyside over lifestyle concerns.

"I was interested in joining Liverpool in 1998, they made a good proposal. But the area didn’t have a French school for my kids and the lifestyle was a problem compared to London," Desailly said, speaking to BoyleSports, who offer the latest Premier League odds.

"The lifestyle is probably why I joined Chelsea over Liverpool, yes. My wife made a real statement that she didn’t want me to drive between London and Liverpool while she stayed in London and my four kids did not have a French school. It’s one of the reasons at the time I chose Chelsea.

"Footballers are human beings, we have to deal with the internal elements that help us make decisions. And small things like that sometimes make the difference, because the money will be good wherever you go. You are trying to make the best deal out of the proposal, but at the end of the day you don’t really care. What you care about is also the lifestyle you are going to have on top of your football."

Desailly went on to make 222 appearances for Chelsea across six seasons. Meanwhile, Liverpool signed Rigobert Song during the 1998/99 season, but the Cameroonian was sold to West Ham in 2000.