Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani has admitted that he wanted to return to Roma last season, as he prepares to face his former side in a pre-season friendly.
The 28-year-old left his boyhood club in 2009 for the Premier League after then-Anfield manager Rafa Benitez stumped up €20 million [£15.6m] for the playmaker's purchase.
Injuries thwarted Aquilani's settling into his new environment, however, and a subsequent return to Italy fared no better as both Juventus and then AC Milan declined to take up the options to make their initial loan arrangements permanent.
The midfielder has now revealed that he had the option to return to Roma following his spell with the Old Lady at the end of the 2010-11 season, as he gears up to potentially face his former employers.
"I had the opportunity to go back to Roma last year, and would even have been prepared to take a pay cut to represent my old club's colours again," stated Aquilani to Corriere dello Sport.
"Facing my old side is always a strong emotion for me, and to do that in a Liverpool jersey will be different to those when I played for Juventus and Milan.
"[New coach] Zdenek Zeman is the right choice for the club, although I thought Luis Enrique did a good job too."
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