Interesting opinion. He went to Germany for the money I believe. Hamburg were one of the top 3 teams in Germany at the time and would go on to win the Bundesliga in 1979 (and eventually the European Cup in 1983) and Keegan was European Footballer of the year twice. Italy had a foreign player ban back then until 1982 ish I think and the Bundesliga was arguably a close second to the English league. He was 29 in 1980 when he returned to England. Liverpool had first choice but refused. Southampton were top of the league in April 1982.

@@randyborstol2491 Hi there. Yes, he definitely went to Germany for the money (he said it was for 'the challenge', but he quadrupled his wage). Hamburg were a good side, sure; but he only won 1 trophy in 3 years with them. In '76, sides like Bayern and Real Madrid were said to be in for him, but Liverpool persuaded him to stay another year. In 1980, he was negotiating a deal to play for Chelsea in the Second Division but the sponsorship couldn't be put in place. He allowed McMenemey and then Arthur Cox to turn his heart towards Southampton and then Newcastle, when he should have listened to his head. He always was a bit of a strange cove, was Keegan.

Keegan coming back to Liverpool in 1981 would have been awesome (speaking as a Liverpool fan who would have been 12 at the time) but looking back at the Liverpool team from 1981-1984 he just wasn't needed. Says so much about how good a team Liverpool were back then.

@@Claggyt always wish we got McMahon in 1983