What if …?! Ian Rush may also have asked himself this question. As the former top striker revealed, when he was an active player he had an offer from FC Bayern to move to the Bundesliga. The Liverpool legend has now explained how this came about.
Ian Rush scored 346 goals in 660 games in his football career for Liverpool FC between 1980 and 1987 and between 1988 and 1996 – more than anyone before or since. And if the Welsh attacker’s career had taken a different turn, the striker might have been able to score some of his goals in an FC Bayern jersey.
Because as Rush revealed in “kicker”, the people of Munich were interested in him at the end of the 80s. Asked by the trade journal whether a move to Germany was ever an option, the now 63-year-old revealed: “I actually had an offer from FC Bayern Munich during my time in Italy.”
By “time in Italy” Rush means the 1987/88 season at Juventus Turin, which degenerated into an interlude. After 40 appearances and “only” 13 goals, the Juventus phase ended after just one year. But it still didn’t make it to the Bundesliga.
Ian Rush: Uli Hoeneß called me
A call from the then Bayern manager Uli Hoeneß, which Rush reported on, didn’t help either.
“He asked me if I wanted to move to Bayern. My Welsh compatriot Mark Hughes was already playing there at the time, and Hoeneß wanted me to come along and we could form the new Bayern striker duo – that sounded tempting to me,” said the attacker and added: “In the end I returned to Liverpool FC.”
A change that should be worth it. In the end, Rush had five championship titles, three cup victories, five League Cups and four Super Cups to his name during his time with the Reds, and he also won the European Cup twice with Liverpool. No wonder that Rush’s face adorns a large building facade on the legendary Anfield Road and that he now works as a club representative.