Sad story of the former Liverpool superstar who claimed that his agent had “turned” him away from his boyhood club
Bobby Duncan appeared to have a bright future ahead of him at Liverpool.
After showing up in court this week, his representative Safia Rubie has made headlines once more.
For several Liverpool young players, Jürgen Klopp’s final season has proven to be particularly memorable.
Though this season it has frequently been a case of needs must, the departing Reds boss has never been hesitated to throw players in when they are ready.
Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley have established themselves as first-team regulars, and they should have even bigger responsibilities in the upcoming campaign.
Others who have risen to the occasion include James McConnell, Bobby Clark, and Jayden Danns, who played a part in the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea at Wembley.
After Bobby Duncan, then a teenage striker, was brought up to the squad for preseason training in 2019, Klopp appeared to be planning to offer him a role in the starting lineup.
After excelling at the academy level, Duncan—a relative of Reds great Steven Gerrard—found the net in a 6-0 friendly victory over Tranmere.
However, that was the moment when his relationship fell apart. Having turned down two loan offers for the teenager, his agent Saif Rubie charged Liverpool of’mentally tormenting’ the teenager.
Rubie continued, saying that Duncan had not left the house in days and would not be going back to the club; Liverpool strongly refuted the claims.
According to The Guardian, Klopp maintained that Duncan was still a part of his plans, saying, “Bobby is one of our young players; we really, really care about our young players.” Because of this, their main issue can be that they become impatient.
“You must make it gradually. It is not often to see someone play for Barcelona at the age of 17, but if you are Lionel Messi, you can. It is feasible, but patience is truly the key.”
On the last day of the transfer window, Duncan completed a permanent swap to Fiorentina, defying Klopp’s recommendations.
A year later, he returned to England to play for Derby County, although he never made it onto the Serie A team.
Just last season, Duncan, who is currently only 22 years old, was competing in Spain’s fourth division. In September 2022, he wrote on social media in response to his agency, blaming Rubie for the unfortunate story: “I did not have a decision.” You decided to ruin a local boy’s childhood club and put my career in danger, leaving my family and I to pick up the pieces.
“I never ought to have put my career in your hands. I hope you’ve learned your lesson as well, because I’ve learned mine, and it might destroy the career of another young lad.”
This week, Rubie appeared in court and was found not guilty of sending Marina Granovskaia, the former Chelsea chief, a threatening email. Rubie claimed he should have received a commission on the transfer fee because he had served as a middleman for Chelsea in the Kurt Zouma trade to West Ham in 2022.