Bobby Duncan Liverpool 2019Getty Images

'The truth will be told' - Ex-Liverpool prospect Bobby Duncan hits back at former agent over Anfield exit

  • Duncan left Anfield for Fiorentina in 2019
  • Rubie claimed he advised the player to stay
  • Duncan says the agent ruined his career

WHAT HAPPENED? The former Reds striker issued a scathing response on Twitter after Rubie, who now represents Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger, claimed in an interview on talkSPORT that he had advised Duncan to stay at Anfield during a dispute which resulted in the player leaving the club for Fiorentina in 2019.

WHAT THEY SAID: Duncan tweeted: "You and I both know the truth. I didn't have a decision nor say as you took it upon yourself to jeopardise my career and to turn a local lad away from his boyhood club and leave me and my family to pick up all the pieces. Not once have I spoken upon this top(ic) in four years as it's been my main priority to get my career back on track.

"But yet you think you have the right to mention my name on a live radio show. The truth will be told by myself when the time is right. I should never have trusted my career in your hands. I have learnt my harsh lesson there, and I just pray you have learned yours as it could ruin another young boy's career. And lastly, just to clarify, there was no advising given as you point-blank made your mind up, publicly, and by then the damage had been done."

Article continues below

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Duncan joined Fiorentina in 2019 after Rubie, then his agent, accused Liverpool - and specifically the-then sporting director Michael Edwards and academy manager Alex Inglethorpe - of "mental bullying" against the then 18-year-old, who it was said had suffered "deep mental health issues" as a result of the club's refusal to let him leave. He spent only four months in Italy before returning to England with Derby County, where he would feature once in a first-team game, a Covid-19-affected FA Cup defeat to Chorley in January 2021.

AND WHAT'S MORE: Duncan, who is the cousin of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, was part of the Reds side which won the FA Youth Cup in 2019, scoring in the final as Barry Lewtas' side beat his former club Manchester City.

STORY IN THREE PHOTOS:

Duncan spent just over a year with Liverpool's academy...

Bobby Duncan Liverpool 2019Getty

And even played for Jurgen Klopp's first team in pre-season...

Bobby Duncan Liverpool 2019Getty

But he left in acrimonious circumstances for Fiorentina in 2019...

Bobby Duncan Fiorentina 2019Getty

WHAT NEXT FOR DUNCAN? Still only 21, last month he signed a three-year contract with third division Spanish outfit Real Balompedica Linense.

Advertisement