Sturridge: Liverpool return like getting back with my ex

Matt Stead

Daniel Sturridge has likened Liverpool to a former girlfriend because Daniel Sturridge is mint.

Sturridge joined Liverpool in January 2013 and quickly established himself in the first team at Anfield.

He scored 35 goals in 49 games in his first season-and-a-half at the club, but was stopped in his tracks by a spate of injuries.

From 2014/15 to 2017/18, the 28-year-old has played just 98 games, scoring 28 goals.

But he has enjoyed a fine pre-season with Liverpool after a failed loan spell with West Brom, and is ready to challenge for a place in the first team again.

“I’ve never had any issues with anybody at the club,” he told ESPN. “I’ve never had any issues with the manager, with the staff. I love it here. I love the players, but sometimes you have to do something for you.

“It’s the same as, I don’t know, if you’ve been with a woman for a long time, and then you’re like, ‘Man, I don’t feel like it’s working out anymore.’ But then you go away, like, ‘Me and my girl’s relationship was kind of sweet still. I might have to go back there.’ It’s kind of like that.

“I don’t see myself going, but you never know what happens in the future. How I am now, I’m enjoying myself, and it’s a great vibe right now, so no complaints at all from me.

“Going away to West Brom, I learned, too. You learn things about football. You learn about yourself. You get to assess the situation from the outside, looking in.

“When you’re on the inside, there’s no other perspective but what you see on the inside. When you’re on the outside you get to look at things a little differently.

“How you can help, how you can fit in, how you can do certain things differently. So it was a good experience for me.”