2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Fasika Zelealem, Ben Crawford)
This Liverpool hero spent a decade at Anfield, and one memorable trip to the Grand National led to a bizarre injury and a laugh with his team-mates on Merseyside Liverpool legend John Barnes shared a hilarious tale about a peculiar injury he sustained at the Grand National , which left him dreading the reaction of his then-boss, Kenny Dalglish . However, the response from the Scotsman was not what he anticipated. Barnes, who is now 61, spent ten years at Liverpool from 1987 to 1997 and by the end of his career, had cemented his place as one of the all-time greats to have donned a Reds' jersey.
During his decade-long stint at Anfield , Barnes played alongside numerous iconic players, but none more so than 'King Kenny' . His time on Merseyside coincided with Dalglish's six-year tenure as player-manager, a role he held from 1985 to 1991, retiring from playing in 1990. Despite being a team-mate of Dalglish, who is now 74, Barnes was acutely aware that he still had to answer to him - a fact that filled him with dread after a foot race gone awry at Aintree Racecourse many years ago.
As the storied annual event takes place this weekend, Barnes will undoubtedly be reminiscing about the National, given that he and his team-mates used to attend the races every Saturday for the first six years of his Liverpool career, reports the Mirror . In Barnes' playing days, when 11am kick-off games were common, the Liverpool squad were just a 17-minute drive away from Aintree after home games, allowing them to enjoy the rest of their Saturday. The competitive spirit among the players was ignited when Alan Hansen challenged Barnes to a foot race on the final furlong of the National course.
Barnes regaled listeners on talkSPORT with a tale of the race that went wrong, and the subsequent time he spent on the sidelines after the fated contest. "I gave Alan Hansen five yards and he beat me by 10, because unfortunately I pulled my hamstring," he shared with Ally McCoist. "I missed three games after that! "Of course, I expected a rollicking from Kenny Dalglish, but Kenny actually showed me a lot of sympathy.
Kenny had a bet on Jockey winning anyway, so I don't think he was too bothered about me missing those three games. "I didn't know money was on it until Kenny was quite pleased. Having lost me for three games, I thought he'd be disappointed, but he wasn't disappointed at all! That's in the old days, Ally!" Throughout his decade-long tenure at Anfield, Barnes celebrated numerous successes including two league titles, a pair of FA Cups, and a League Cup victory.
Barnes' contribution to the club's storied history concluded with the memorable title win in the 1989/90 season, which remained unmatched until Jurgen Klopp brought home the Premier League title in the 2019/20 season..
