Joseph Yobo spent 10 years at Everton, before leaving for Turkey's Fenerbahce and says his decision to leave was motivated by a desire to win trophies. But now, the Evertonian in him would want the current league season voided in order to deny Liverpool the title.
An ever-present fixture at the heart of the Toffees defence at the height of his career, Yobo shunned moves to the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal to stay with the Merseyside club, but said in the end, the desire to win trophies proved too strong
"I love Everton," Yobo told ESPN. "Because without Everton, there would be no Joseph Yobo but it came to a point in my career where I knew that I had to win something. The closest I came with Everton was the FA Cup Final against Chelsea that we lost.
"Winning trophies is always important. I knew I was coming to the end of my career and I needed to have something to show for it at the end. Look at Jay Jay Okocha, with his talent and his ability, he would have won World Player of the Year or at least been in serious contention if he had some trophies.
"Fenerbahce gave me that fulfillment. I won the league and two Turkish Cup titles with them. That is why my love for these two clubs is intense."
Despite that love, Yobo said he almost left the club midway through his career after Wayne Rooney was sold to Manchester United
"We weren't a top half team when I came to Everton but we started building," Yobo told ESPN. "Rooney was just coming through, he was the star of the team and when they sold him I was like wow are we building or are we selling players? So I was like, what am I doing here if Rooney is gone. Maybe I need to go too.
"I spoke to the club owners and the coach. I told them my mind. I was called to the office the next morning. And I told them we just sold Rooney. If you're selling players, am I up for it too.
"At that moment, we decided I was going to extend my contract. They told me what the plan was and the reason why they sold him. So it turned out good.
"This was about my future. I needed reassurance on the way the club was going because I was looking at Rooney as one of the people that would carry the club to where we anted to go and the next thing I saw Rooney gone. I was upset, I wasn't happy about it because I wanted to win something major with Everton.
"I was in a position of strength then. At that point people were talking to my agent and the club knew about it. So it was either I signed or I leave the club and I had big clubs speaking to me then. It was a good decision in the end to stay."
Yobo went on to become an integral and consistent part of the Everton team, becoming one of only seven players to play every minute of every single Premier League game during the 2006-7 season.
One of his small regrets is not getting a testimonial from the club. "I thought I was going to have one," he said. But despite that, he still remains a Blue and the Toffee in him told ESPN he would prefer to see the current season voided rather than see Liverpool crowned champions
"As an Everton Blue I would prefer that the league is cancelled so that Liverpool don't win it," he said with a chuckle. "That is me speaking as an Evertonian, I don't want them to win.
"But as a football fan, and as someone who loves the game, I think Liverpool have done well and do deserve to win it. To lead the league by 25 points is not easy. If you look at their form from last season, they only lost the league to City by a point or so. Now they lead by 23 or 25 points, I think that is a lot.
"As a someone who loves the game, it is unfair, if you are leading by over 20 points not to win, so I think they should win it. They have worked hard to get to this point."
Source: espn.co.uk