Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson had claimed he cried when former Kop boss Brendan Rodgers told him he could leave the Reds back in 2012.
Henderson, 31, was close to leaving Anfield after a single season on Merseyside, but has since praised the role Rodgers played in his development.
The Reds had agreed a fee with Fulham, but Henderson didn't agree personal terms and was keen to stay and fight for his place.
Sunderland-born midfielder Henderson revealed the moment he was told he could seek pastures new, which left him 'devastated'.
But with Rodgers' guidance and help, it propelled the Liverpool captain to become a true leader of the club.
'I can remember it like it was yesterday,' Henderson said on BT Sport's Between the Lines.
'It was just before we played Hearts at Anfield. I had a conversation with Brendan [Rodgers] in the hotel the day of the game, and to be fair to Brendan, he gave me the option, it was more the club that was willing to let me go.
'Brendan said 'listen, it is down to you. You are not going to be starting as much as you would like but I will try to help you improve on what you need to improve on. You're still young and if you do that then maybe you'll get more game time'.
'I basically went back to my room, cried a little bit and was devastated, really. It wasn't really an option for me to leave because I hadn't been at the club very long and I had worked extremely hard to get there. I wasn't just going to leave.'
Having joined the Reds from boyhood club Sunderland in 2011 for £20million, he has featured more than 400 times and claims the chat with Rodgers proved vital in helping him to reach such milestone.
'I sort of said straightaway: 'I ain't going anywhere. I will do everything I can to get in the team and I will prove people wrong'.
'From that moment, everyday in the gym I'd give everything, everyday on the training pitch, I'd give everything. Brendan helped me a lot tactically. I was good at box-to-box, I was very physical, and decent technically, but the tactical elements I wasn't really taught that much.
'He showed me positioning, where he wanted us with and without the ball, and I felt that helped us understand football even more. From that moment on, I just grew in confidence as time went on.'