1 week Ago By Fasika Zelealem
Liverpool legend John Barnes shared a peculiar tale of an injury he sustained at the Grand National , which left him dreading the reaction of his then-manager Kenny Dalglish. However, the response from the Scotsman was not what he anticipated. Barnes, who is now 61, spent 10 years at Liverpool from 1987 to 1997 and by the end of his career, had cemented his status as one of the greatest players to have ever donned the Reds' jersey.
During his decade-long stint at Anfield, Barnes played alongside many legendary figures, but none more so than the man nicknamed 'King Kenny'. His tenure at Liverpool coincided with Dalglish's six-year spell as player-manager, a role he held from 1985 to 1991, before calling time on his 21-year playing career in 1990. Despite being a team-mate of Dalglish, 74, Barnes was acutely aware that he still had to answer to him - a fact that filled him with dread after a foot race at Aintree Racecourse went awry decades ago.
As the 2025 annual event unfolds this weekend, Barnes will undoubtedly be reminiscing about the Grand 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 . During Barnes' era, 11am kick-off games were common, and post home games, the Liverpool squad were just a 17-minute drive away from Aintree, allowing them to savour 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 Grand National course.
The former winger, known for his lightning speed, recounted the disastrous race against the ex-Reds captain that left him injured and fearing the wrath of Dalglish. Speaking on talkSPORT , he told Ally McCoist: "I gave Alan Hansen five yards and he beat me by 10, because unfortunately I pulled my hamstring, I missed three games after that!" Despite expecting a severe reprimand from Dalglish, Barnes was surprised to find sympathy instead. "Of course, I expected a rollicking from Kenny Dalglish, but Kenny actually showed me a lot of sympathy," he explained.
"Kenny had a bet on Jockey (Hansen's nickname) 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!" Barnes' illustrious career at Liverpool spanned a decade, during which he clinched two league titles, two FA Cups, and a League Cup, contributing to their last title win in the 1989/90 season before Jurgen Klopp 's historic Premier League triumph in 2019/20.
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