It’s a strange little thing, that destiny. Faith and dedicated work are just not enough sometimes. Most of the time, actually. You need that extra bit of push and help from someone and something else to make the crucial step and fulfill your potentials and to put yourself in the place where you belong. To connect the dots and arrange everything to happen like it should.Just check out Cody Gakpo and his strange football journey. The Liverpool winger, the son of a Togolese father and a Dutch mother, joined the Reds from PSV Eindhoven after the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Gakpo on instagram 🥹 pic.twitter.com/KV0Yf62VJH— Killi 🪐 (@Killi243_) January 29, 2025 However, in his article for The Players’ Tribune, the 25-year-old forward revealed he was told he’d join Liverpool years ago by a pastor?!”Around that time, I started hearing rumors of a move to England. Now, everybody who knows me, knows I am a man guided by my faith. So, one day, I had a meeting with the pastor from my church back in Holland, and he brought a friend who was a pastor somewhere else,” explained Gakpo, before adding:”This other pastor said, ‘Can I tell you something?’ I said of course. This was before any big clubs had come knocking on my door. And he said that God told him that I would go to Liverpool. I kind of laughed it off like, Yeah, nice, we will see about that. There was already a little bit of interest from Manchester United, so I thought, We’ll see.Instead of partying, Gakpo spent his holiday doing charity work in Africa”Then in the summer of 2022, United went for Antony. I was like, What should I do? At this point I could go to Leeds, Southampton, or I could stay at PSV. I prayed, and I asked God for guidance. But you see, I had to make sure I got his message. So I said, If I score only one time, I’ll go to Southampton. If I score two times, I’ll go to Leeds. If I score three times, I’ll stay,” revealed the Dutch player who nailed a hat-trick and stayed at Eindhoven.And then came the mentioned Qatar WC, which changed everything… The Netherlands lost to Argentina in the quarter-finals after a penalty shootout, but the life was about to change for young Gakpo. ##EDITORS_CHOICE##The destiny was knocking on his doors…”The next day we went home. Then I went to Dubai on vacation. One night, I’m in my hotel room. It’s like 11 pm. My brother Sidney calls with my agents. ‘We’re having talks with them now,’ he said. ‘It’s pretty close.’ Who? ‘Liverpool.”The Dutch international of African origins also shared a charming family story, which proves how important it is to have parents that support you from day one.”Dad is a character. He’s… well, he does things his way. I remember I came home from a match last season, and I didn’t have a great performance. Not bad, just not great. It was one of those cold, rainy Liverpool days, and all I wanted to do when I got home was chill. But my dad wasn’t having it. Before I even got my shoes off, he said, ‘Son. Outside.’Huh? ‘In the garden. Let’s go.’##NAJAVA_MECA_8666902##So I grabbed a ball, and we went out into the garden. It was already dark, and it was still raining. Any error I made, we repeated the exact situation, just like how we used to practice when I was a kid. He said, ‘OK, I’ll be Salah.’And he ran over to the right wing, and recreated the same scenario from the game. ‘OK, let’s do it right this time.’ I am not being funny! This is real. He does this all the time. I’ll come home after a Champions League game, and Dad will be waiting. ‘Ah, you have some time for me today?’ I say, ‘Yes, yes, come.’And then we go to my garden and practice some mistake I made 10, 20 times, until I can do it with my eyes closed. He’ll usually ask one of my brothers to come as well to play as the defender. Dad’s almost 60, now, to be fair. So he can’t always be Ruben Dias!,” concluded Gakpo.
