Alessandro Del Piero Admits Heysel Disaster Caused Him to Reject Liverpool Approach

Friday, 12th October, 2012

Alessandro Del Piero has revealed that the Heysel tragedy was one of the reasons he chose not to speak to Liverpool about moving to Anfield.

The veteran forward recently joined Australian A-League side Sydney FC as a free agent, having come to the end of an epic 19-year spell at Juventus, where he was acclaimed as a fan favourite and, at his peak, as one of the most accomplished players in world football.

relatedNewsStoryBefore the 37-year-old put pen to paper with Sydney though, there was much talk that Liverpool, who had seen the summer transfer window slam shut without managing to sign a new striker, had moved for his services.

Del Piero has now spoken out on this and revealed the Heysel tragedy, where 39 Juventus fans died and 600 fans were injured, in the 1985 European Cup final between the Bianconeri and Liverpool, weighed heavily on his mind.

As a result of the disaster, which had seen Liverpool fans breach a fence separating them from a neutral area containing Juventus fans, the Reds were banned from European competition for six years, while other English sides were banned for five years.

"Negotiations with Sydney were already at an advanced stage and at that moment I remembered the events of Heysel Stadium", Del Piero told Gazzetta dello Sport when asked about Liverpool’s interest.

"Juventus and Liverpool have worked hard on the relationship, but for many people it is something they will never forget", he added.

Del Piero also insisted that his move Down Under is not about money, but about a new experience, having done it all in Europe, using the opportunity to hit back at his critics.

"People can say what they want. I don’t care", said the Italian.

"I had a lot of options: America, Brazil, Thailand, Qatar, Spain, England, China, Japan.

"I have won everything, so I did not need to play in the Champions League again."