Cody Gakpo has shared how faith played a role in his transfer to Liverpool.
The Dutch winger moved to Liverpool from PSV in January 2023.
“In 2020, my game really started to progress. That’s when Roger Schmidt became our coach and led us to second place. We were still far behind Ajax, but the following year we only trailed by two points and won the Super Cup against them. At that time, with their squad and Ten Hag as coach, Ajax seemed unbeatable. Winning the final against Ajax and scoring the decisive goal? That will always mean a lot to me.
“Around the same time, I started hearing rumors about a move to England. Now, everyone who knows me knows that I am a person who follows my faith. One day, I met a pastor from my church in the Netherlands, and he brought a friend who was a pastor from another place.
“This other pastor asked, ‘Can I tell you something?’ I said, ‘Of course.’ This was before any big clubs contacted me. And he admitted that God had told him that I would move to Liverpool. I joked, ‘Yeah, sure, we’ll see.’ Manchester United had already shown some interest, and I thought, let’s see how things go.
“Then, in the summer of 2022, United signed Antony. I thought, ‘What should I do now?’ I could move to Leeds, Southampton, or stay at PSV. I prayed and asked God for guidance. But I had to be sure I had received His message. So I said, if I score one goal, I will move to Southampton. If I score two, I’ll go to Leeds. If I score three, I’ll stay.
“The next day we played, and I scored twice. I also scored a third goal, but initially, it was counted as an own goal. Then I was substituted. So, two goals, right? I thought, ‘Alright, Leeds it is.’ I accepted the decision.
“Sitting on the bench, I told my friend Jordan Teze, who now plays for Monaco, the whole story. He said, ‘If God wants you to stay, they will credit that own goal to you.’ It felt like flipping a coin, and I waited for their decision. It could have gone differently! But after the game, they changed the own goal to me.
“I scored three goals, and my fate changed. I stayed at PSV. It’s a funny story, but in a way, it’s an important part of the puzzle. Thank God I stayed because that allowed me to play at the World Cup, which led me to Liverpool,” Gakpo wrote in his column for The Players
