At the start of the decade, Joe Cole was quite the wanted commodity.

Following a pretty successful seven-year spell with Chelsea where he won three Premier League titles and three FA Cups, the English midfielder secured a high-profile free transfer to Roy Hodgson's Liverpool.

Cole was viewed by the new boss and the Reds as a marquee signing, but sadly, he flopped quite alarmingly at Anfield.

On his Premier League debut against Arsenal, he was shown a red card and he went on to make just 26 appearances for the club in three years, scoring only three times.

He was even loaned to Ligue 1 side Lille for the 2011/12 season, before securing a permanent move to West Ham, the team he made his name at as a youth talent.

THE HYPE SURROUNDING HIS LIVERPOOL MOVE

Before his decline, the fanfare around his Anfield switch was pretty enormous and the Reds' captain Steven Gerrard was on hand to make one of the most ridiculous quotes in modern football history.

Speaking to Match of the Day magazine, Gerrard said: "[Lionel] Messi can do some amazing things, but anything he can do Joe can do as well, if not better.

"He used to shock us in training by doing footy tricks with a golf ball that most players can't even do with a football.

"I really fancy Joe for the [player of the year] award this season."

Yes, he really did say that.

I mean, people still rated Cole extremely highly in 2010, but few if any have ever said he was anywhere near Messi's level, especially after he lifted the Ballon d'Or the year he signed.

Cole is still playing professionally over in America for Tampa Bay Rowdies, where he has scored 16 times in 50 appearances.

His career will always be remembered for unfulfilled potential and recurring injuries, but for one brief moment, he was compared to the greatest player ever by a true legend.