Alessandro Del Piero has revealed that he turned down the chance to join Liverpool over the summer transfer window because of the memories of the Heysel distaster, while he was already in advanced talks with Sydney FC as well.

Thirty-nine Juventus fans died during the stadium tragedy in 1985, and the former Italy international feels joining the Premier League side would be too sensitive a move.

“Talks with Sydney were already in an advanced stage when Liverpool came knocking, and then I thought about what had happened at Heysel,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Juventus and Liverpool have been able to rebuild their relationship, but that tragedy will forever be on the mind of many people.”

Del Piero then went on to voice his disappointment with his departure from Juventus, but praised Bianconeri fans for the warm farewell they gave him.

“I never thought I would leave Juventus like this. I never even imagined this some 18 months ago. However, things then changed.

“I leave with a feeling of satisfaction, though, knowing that I always gave everything for Juventus.

“The fans outdid themselves for my farewell game. I knew that the fans liked me, but never thought I’d be that popular. Gigi Buffon told me that he envied me.”

The 37-year-old made his Sydney debut at the weekend as they lost 2-0 against Wellington Phoenix.

Liverpool defender Daniel Agger has expressed pride at having extended his stay with the club and believes the Reds can become a force again under Brendan Rodgers.

Despite contract talks reportedly stalling at the time, the Dane revealed a tattoo of the club’s motto, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, initialised on his knuckles over the summer.

And he finally put pen to paper on a new “long-term” contract this week, joining the likes of Martin Skrtel and Luis Suarez in committing his future to the Merseyside club.

“I’m proud to be here, and I think my knuckles show that. I’d thought about it for a long time,” Agger told reporters.

“As I said, I feel a part of this club and I feel a part of this city. I’ve been here so long now, so it was an easy decision.”
 
Liverpool have gained just six points in their opening seven league games under new boss Rodgers, but the 27-year-old has insisted his side will soon get the rewards for their good performances.

“I’m enjoying life under the new manager. I really like it and I’m happy every day going into training,” he added.

“I feel we have a good team, a good mentality and a style of good football that I want to play. I’m not a fan of looking into the future. But I definitely believe we can get back.

“In terms of points, it hasn’t been good but I think we’ve played really well. We made a few mistakes but played good football and now we just need results.”

With another international break upon us, now is the ideal time to assess how the ground lies for clubs across Europe’s top domestic leagues.

Chelsea currently lead Manchester City and United in what is already promising to be another scintillating Premier League season, while Barcelona have opened up an eight-point gap on rivals Real Madrid after just seven games of the new Liga campaign.

Bayern Munich are well on course to end Borussia Dortmund’s recent Bundesliga dominance, and in Serie A Juventus have maintained their unbeaten run from last season, and are currently well ahead of both Milan giants in the table.

Goal.com has sought the opinions of fans from 12 of Europe’s biggest sides, to see how the new campaign has been viewed from terraces across the continent…