Harvey Elliott once refused an opportunity to meet ex-Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos, out of respect for Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah.

Elliott, 21, watched his side outclass Los Blancos from the bench on Wednesday night, as Arne Slot's rampant Reds dispatched the 15-time Champions League winners 2-0. Before Elliott joined the Merseysiders in 2019, he was also of interest to the Spanish giants.

Real Madrid did their best to sway him to the Bernabeu when he was widely considered to be one of the best youngsters in world football. At the time, Elliott had become the then youngest player ever to compete in the Premier League, when he was brought on from the bench by Fulham in a clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers, aged 16 years and 30 days.

Los Blancos were so desperate to sign him that they even roped in Ramos to try and close the deal for the young England U21 international. But with memories of the Spaniard wrestling Salah down and dislocating his shoulder in the 2018 Champions League final still fresh in the Liverpool supporter's mind, Elliott, who was a teenager at the time, refused to meet him.

When asked if the rumours of him snubbing Ramos were true, Elliott told the Athletic in 2020: "Yeah, that's true. I turned it down because of what he did to Mo."

Elliott would go on to join Liverpool for £4.3 million, a transfer figure which had to be agreed with the Professional Football Compensation Committee. He has since gone on to make 120 appearances for the Reds, contributing 10 goals and 14 assists.

The England U21 international is yet to make an impact under Slot this season after suffering a broken foot at the start of the campaign. He was fit enough to make the subs bench for the victory over Carlo Ancelotti's side, but played no part in the game.

In another world, Elliott could have been turning out in Madrid's full white strip at Anfield. But his love for the Merseysiders burned too deep and Elliott was never going to reject an approach from the Reds.

In 2020, he also told the Athletic: "As a little kid, I just remember the buzz of walking up the steps inside the stand at Anfield, seeing the lights and the players warming up — what a sight. My heroes were Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez.

"I loved watching them. My dad was a big fan of Fernando Torres and we had a big poster of him in the house. Me and my dad always tried to do as many away games as possible.

"We had to tell a few lies to the school and my mum along the way! ‘Make sure you get a nice hotel,’ she would say. The place where we stayed in Kiev in this rundown block of flats was horrendous.

"But that’s part of the fun of being a football fan: following your team wherever they go and the experiences you share with your friends and family. The result wasn’t great but the trip itself to Kiev was brilliant.”