'I signed new five-year deal with Liverpool then they sold me days later – it broke my heart'

Contracts are not always a guarantee that a footballer or manager will remain at a club for long, as ex-Liverpool defender Dominic Matteo discovered after suddenly finding himself out the exit door

Former Liverpool ace Dominic Matteo found out the hard way that a contract is no guarantee your future is secure in football.

Matteo came through the ranks at Anfield and became one of the club's most experienced players. He spent eight years on the red side of Merseyside, and after putting pen-to-paper on a new five-year contract in 2000, he would have expected to remain at the club for many more years.

A matter of just days later, however, he would be told that the club wanted to sell him. Having signed the whopping deal, Matteo was unsurprisingly shell-shocked by the decision.

He would go on to join title rivals Leeds United, where he eventually was named captain. Yet, at the time, Matteo admitted his heart was broken by the ruthless decision.

In his autobiography, ‘In My Defence’, he said: "On the Monday, I was signing a five-year deal that, by the standards of the day, was a lucrative one. But, just four days later, I was on my way out of Liverpool. I was in shock. How could things change so quickly in just four days?

“The thought of leaving was an upsetting one. But, for the good of my career, I needed a fresh start. So, I went. It meant I missed out on all the trophies that Liverpool won the following season. I’ll admit that seeing the lads pick up the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup was difficult."

He added: “When I left Liverpool, I had five years left on my contract. I didn't think I was going anywhere, but I didn't think I was going to get the game time again. The reason why I left was because of that.

“There was no other reason. I wanted to stay, but I wasn't going to get the game time. I thought I couldn’t have another three or four years of not playing. It just wasn’t what I wanted.”

Matteo made his decision after having frank discussions with manager at the time Gerard Houllier. While both accepted that Matteo had the power to remain at the club and take a paycheque for the next five years, he did not want to sit on the bench for that duration of time."

He continued: “Obviously I was gutted that I had to leave. Even though we talked about the five years and my contract, I was gutted. I was gutted, I was heartbroken for a long time, but I had to make the right call to play games.

“And obviously getting the opportunity to go to Leeds and we were in the Champions League. But then that year Liverpool go and win the UEFA Cup. So for me, mixed emotions.

“It would've been nice in a way. You'd be lying if you didn't say I'd like to have stayed and won things with them, of course I would. But life doesn’t work like that. You move forward into your career.”

Matteo would go on to make 146 appearances for Leeds before suffering relegation in 2004. The Scottish born left-back joined Premier League Blackburn Rovers that summer, before finishing his career with Stoke City in 2009.

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