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<\/p>\nA former Liverpool talent once compared to the legendary likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is back on the market as a free agent<\/p>\n
Former Liverpool prospect Lazar Markovic is now a free agent(Image: Andrew Powell\/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Years after falling short of expectations at Anfield<\/a>, former Liverpool <\/a>prospect Lazar Markovic<\/a> has once again become a free agent. The Serb was once compared to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi<\/a> by one Premier League<\/a> boss but never hit the heights expected of him.<\/p>\n Now 32, Markovic is available once again after it was confirmed he’s left Apollon Limassol following the expiration of his one-year deal. The winger has had four clubs in the past four years since joining Gaziantep in the summer of 2022 and is even considered CEO Michael Edwards’ biggest transfer regret<\/a> at Anfield.<\/p>\n It’s a sharp fall from grace after the player seemingly had the world at his feet following a \u00a320million move to Anfield from Benfica<\/a> when Brendan Rodgers<\/a> was in charge in 2014. Former Premier League manager Avram Grant even went so far as to liken Markovic to Ronaldo and Messi given the promise he displayed as a teenager.<\/p>\n Get the best Liverpool FC news and analysis straight to your Inbox courtesy of the Echo!<\/p>\n It’s as simple as 1-2-3.<\/p>\n Open the Echo’s newsletter preference centre RIGHT HERE.<\/a>Open up Sport.Choose Liverpool FC and hit Subscribe.<\/p>\n Speaking about the then-youngster at the time, ex-Chelsea and West Ham boss Grant spoke highly of the player. Having helped oversee some of his development at Partizan Belgrade prior to him joining Benfica, the journeyman tactician spared no expense in his praise.<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n In the end, Markovic scored only three goals in 34 senior outings for the Reds during his five-year stay on Merseyside. During that spell, he had loans at Fenerbahce, Sporting CP, Hull City and Anderlecht before joining Fulham on a free in January 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite that lack of activity for the Reds, former team-mate Kolo Toure also lauded the player’s character. It wasn’t long after his move from Lisbon in 2014 that the Ivorian said he was impressed by what he’d seen.<\/p>\n Markovic failed to impress at Liverpool and went on a series of loans away before joining Fulham on a free in January 2019(Image: Photo by Alex Livesey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n After joining Fulham midway through the 2018\/19 campaign, Markovic failed to earn a new deal at Craven Cottage. He instead moved back to Belgrade with Partizan that summer, where he enjoyed a brief resurgence over the next three seasons.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_Screenshot-2026-06-03-at-133610.png\")
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