Cody Gakpo reveals message from God that led to Liverpool transfer after Man Utd decided on £85m Antony deal instead

Gakpo moved to Liverpool from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023, just six months after Manchester United made their interest known in him before moving for £85m Antony instead. While the Dutch star has established himself as an important squad member at Anfield, the Brazilian's spell at Old Trafford turned out to be a nightmare. His two-and-a-half-year-long disastrous stint has paused after he completed a loan move to Real Betis.

Gakpo has told The Players' Tribune of how his move to Liverpool came about: "It wasn’t until 2020 that my game really took off. That’s when Roger Schmidt took over as our manager, and he lifted us to second place. We were still miles behind Ajax, but the next year, we finished just two points behind, and won the Super Cup final against them. At the time, with [Erik] ten Hag and the players they had, they seemed unbeatable. So, that was big. Winning the final against that Ajax team, and then for me to score in that big moment? That will always mean a lot to me.

"Around that time, I started hearing rumours of a move to England. Now, everybody who knows me, knows I am a man guided by my faith. So, one day, I had a meeting with the pastor from my church back in Holland, and he brought a friend who was a pastor somewhere else. This other pastor said, 'Can I tell you something?', I said of course. This was before any big clubs had come knocking on my door. And he said that God told him that I would go to Liverpool. I kind of laughed it off like, Yeah, nice, we will see about that. There was already a little bit of interest from Manchester United, so I thought, We’ll see."

The 25-year-old added: "Then in the summer of 2022, United went for Antony. I was like, What should I do? At this point, I could go to Leeds, Southampton, or I could stay at PSV. I prayed, and I asked God for guidance. But you see, I had to make sure I got his message. So I said, If I score only one time, I’ll go to Southampton…. If I score two times, I’ll go to Leeds…. If I score three times, I’ll stay.

"The next day we played, and I scored twice. I was also involved in a third goal - and at first, it was called as an own goal. Then I was subbed out. So, two goals, right? I thought, Ah, OK, it’s Leeds then. I was at peace with my decision. As I was sitting on the bench, I told my friend, Jordan Teze, who now plays for Monaco, the whole story. He was like, 'If God wants you to stay, that own goal will be awarded to you'. It was like a coin toss, waiting to see what they decided. It could have gone either way! But after the game, they gave me the goal. I scored three, so my fate changed. I stayed at PSV."

He continued: "It’s a funny story, but in a way, that’s a really important piece of the puzzle. Thank God I stayed because that allowed me to play in the World Cup, which led to Liverpool."

The Dutch forward will be next seen in action on Wednesday night as he is all set to face his former club PSV in Liverpool's final league stage match of the Champions League.