Poland, who moved to Inter Milan on a free transfer from Napoli this summer
Midfielder Zielinski, in a recent interview with the FootTruck channel, revealed the behind-the-scenes story of how he was once close to joining Liverpool in 2016.
Zielinski recalled that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp showed great interest in him at the time and even invited him to his home. Klopp also sent a private jet to pick him up for the first time in his life. Upon arrival, they traveled by bus to Klopp's mansion where they had an in-depth conversation.
Zielinski said, "Our communication went well at that time, Klopp said I was like a combination of Fabregas and Gündoğan, I didn't quite understand what he meant but one of my managers speaks German so there was no barrier to communication. I also took a picture with Klopp as we were leaving, leaving a precious memory."
However, the transfer eventually failed to materialize. Zielinski revealed that Liverpool's offer at the time was 18.5 million euros, but Udinese wanted a higher transfer fee. As Zielinski was not a top player at that time, Liverpool could not offer a higher offer due to certain restrictions, so the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
As well as Liverpool, Zielinski revealed that he had received offers from Manchester United and Arsenal. Bruno Fernandes even sent him a message to join Manchester United. And Arsenal had also approached him, and if he hadn't joined Napoli, he probably would have chosen Arsenal.
In addition, Zielinski mentioned the possibility of him joining Barcelona. He stated that it had been an exchange deal where he went to Barcelona while several of Barcelona's young players went to Napoli. But in the end, Napoli president De Laurentiis preferred to sign him instead of two or three La Masia players.
Zielinski also mentioned Diego Simoni when talking about his Napoli experience. He stated that Giovanni Simoni had told him that his father admired him. He also took a picture with Diego Simeone and had a short conversation at the party where Napoli won the Serie A title. Diego Simeone thought he was a good player but advised him to try to shoot more and look for goals more often.
