Liverpool academy star 'hated' the Reds but was banned from wearing Everton kit
Liverpool youngster Jordan Rossiter was banned from wearing an Everton kit in the gym despite supporting the Toffees, a former coach has claimed.
Rossiter came through the Reds academy despite growing up as an Everton fan. He made his first-team debut under Brendan Rodgers as a teenager, scoring in a League Cup outing, but played just four further times and is now at Bristol Rovers.
The youngster was one of a number of talents to play Premier League football after graduating, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Wilson among the others around at the time. Karl Robinson was on the Reds' coaching staff at the time, and the former Oxford and MK Dons boss has shed some light on Rossiter's unusual situation.
Robinson, speaking to I Had Trials Once, described Rossiter as a "massive blue nose". "He was a massive Everton fan so we had to ban him from wearing an Everton kit in the gym, but he hated Liverpool so much that he would just wear Celtic kit instead because he couldn’t bear to put a Liverpool kit on," he said.
“He refused to wear the Liverpool kit because he was such a big Everton fan and that isn’t uncommon because so many players in the Liverpool academy who were local would’ve been Everton fans and I’m sure it would have been the same at Everton’s academy where they would have had lads who were massive Liverpool fans.”
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Rossiter made his Premier League debut in August 2015, replacing Lucas Leiva during a goalless draw at Arsenal. He got a handful of further chances under Jurgen Klopp, but later left for Rangers and played under Steven Gerrard at Ibrox before returning to England.
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Jordan Rossiter scored once for Liverpool's first-team (Liverpool Echo)Rossiter's first Liverpool appearance was a memorable one. He scored just 10 minutes into his debut, a League Cup game against Middlesbrough, but had left the field by the time Rodgers' side completed a dramatic 14-13 penalty shoot-out victory.
Injury issues would follow, though, both at Anfield and Ibrox. However, he is now rebuilding in Bristol under Joey Barton - the man he replaced for his Rangers debut all the way back in 2016.
Rovers finished 17th in League One last season, steering clear of the relegation zone but barely threatening the upper reaches of the table under former Fleetwood Town boss Barton. It was the 40-year-old who brought Rossiter from Rangers to Fleetwood in 2020, and even compared him to N'Golo Kante last term.
“He just puts fires out and gets his body in it, similar to what N’Golo Kante kind of does at the top of the game," Barton said in 2022. "I think every good team needs a few people like that who put the team above themselves."
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