Ex-Liverpool starlet tipped to rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi released by club

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Years after failing to live up to expectations at Anfield, former Liverpool prospect Lazar Markovic has once more become a free agent. The Serbian was previously likened to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi by one Premier League manager but never reached the heights.

Now 32, Markovic is on the market again following confirmation he's departed Apollon Limassol after his one-year contract expired. The winger has represented four clubs in the past four years since signing for Gaziantep in the summer of 2022 and is even regarded by CEO Michael Edwards as his biggest recruitment mistake at Anfield.

It's a dramatic decline after the player seemingly had everything ahead of him following a £20million switch to Anfield from Benfica when Brendan Rodgers was manager in 2014. Former Premier League boss Avram Grant even went as far as to compare Markovic to Ronaldo and Messi given the potential he showed as a teenager.

Discussing the then-youngster at the time, ex-Chelsea and West Ham chief Grant spoke warmly of the player. Having helped guide some of his progression at Partizan Belgrade before he moved to Benfica, the experienced tactician was effusive in his admiration.

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Grant said of his former charge at the time: "I can say that apart from Ronaldo and Messi, Markovic is one of the best talents I've ever seen at 19 years of age."

Ultimately, Markovic managed just three goals in 34 senior appearances for the Reds across his five-year stint on Merseyside. During that period, he had loan spells at Fenerbahce, Sporting CP, Hull City and Anderlecht before sealing a free transfer to Fulham in January 2019.

Despite his limited impact for Liverpool, former team-mate Kolo Toure was equally full of praise for the player's attitude. Shortly after his move from Lisbon in 2014, the Ivorian revealed he had been won over by what he had witnessed.

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"I am very proud of Markovic," said Toure in December 2014. "Since he came here, he hasn't had a lot of chances to play, but he's shown great character and worked hard in training. He is a great boy, works hard, is very quick and technically is very, very good."

That work ethic failed to materialise as consistent product on the pitch, however. Dr. Ian Graham, Liverpool’s former director of research, wrote in his book, ‘How to Win the Premier League : The Inside Story of Football's Data Revolution,’ that CEO Edwards considered signing Markovic as his biggest regret, per the Liverpool Echo .

Having joined Fulham midway through the 2018/19 season, Markovic was unable to secure a long-term contract at Craven Cottage. He subsequently returned to Belgrade with Partizan that summer, where he enjoyed a brief revival over the following three campaigns.

He then linked up with Gaziantep in 2022 before heading out on loan to Trabzonspor the next year . A single season followed with Baniyas in the United Arab Emirates after signing in 2024, before another one-season stint in Cyprus with Limassol.

Markovic managed only two goals and two assists in 22 outings for Limassol, who ended the campaign third in the First Division. Should he continue playing, his next move would represent the sixth free transfer of his career, a surprising path for a player who was once spoken of in the same company as some of football's most celebrated stars.