Tuesday 11 October 2016 21:26, UK
Damien Comolli claims he was axed from his role as Liverpool's director of football for signing Jordan Henderson.
Comolli was responsible for bringing Henderson to Anfield in a £16m deal in 2011.
The midfielder struggled during his first season and the Frenchman claims the club's owner, Fenway Sports Group, responded by relieving him of his duties.
Henderson went on to become a key member of Liverpool's first-team, going on to succeed Steven Gerrard as the club captain in 2015, and on Tuesday night will lead England for the first time in their World Cup qualifier against Slovenia.
"He is one of the main reasons I got sacked," Comolli told Sky Sports' Jim White in an interview with talkSPORT.
"The day I got sacked, they [Liverpool's owners] told me I had made a big mistake on Jordan and he was a waste of money.
"Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but I think we paid the right price. He was a young English, British player and we know very often that British players are overvalued. But we were more than happy to pay the price because we thought he would become an outstanding player.
"I never said it publicly, but I was convinced he would be the future captain. People will say it is easy to say now, but I was convinced at the time that he would become the Liverpool captain. Now he is and he is also the England captain."
Comolli, who in his first two months with the Reds brought Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll to the club in 2011, explained both he and then manager Kenny Dalglish believed signing Henderson was not a gamble.
"I was totally convinced, as was Kenny, that we were doing the right thing for the club," said Comolli.
"He fitted the profile we were looking for. We knew he was an outstanding person, we knew he had leadership skills, we knew he was totally dedicated to football, to his passion, and we knew he was someone who wanted to improve on a day to day basis. We knew his physical abilities - his fitness stats were absolutely unbelievable.
"We were looking at statistics and we were going through a lot of midfield players in the Premier League and what amazed me and caught my eye was his ability to create quality chances.
"For a player who was so young, playing not in a top side, with all due respect to Sunderland, he was producing and creating more quality chances, or least as much, as top quality players in the Premier League."
