Ian Rush is a Liverpool legend but he spent just a solitary season at Leeds United in 1996/97 after his departure from the Reds.
He was then 35 when joining Leeds United, with Ian Rush then joining Newcastle United as his career wound down. Sheffield United, Wrexham, and Sydney Olympic were the final clubs before he retired.
Rush turns 64 this week, but the Wales icon scored 346 goals in 660 games. That means only five players have made more appearances, while no one comes close to his top scorer record for the club.
He was past his best by the time he arrived in West Yorkshire, but Rush could have remained for longer than he did before uniting with Kenny Dalglish at Newcastle United.
Rush spent a season with Leeds and scored three times in 36 Premier League games, with three in 41 in all competitions that year. He was given a free transfer at the end of the 1996/97 campaign to join with a player he spent eight seasons with at Anfield.
He had been brought to Elland Road by iconic Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson, who was sacked only a month into the Premier League season to be replaced by George Graham.
Speaking with Dalglish via Redmen TV, Rush said: “I was at Leeds, yeah. I had an argument with George Graham and he said — I was there for one year and I had two years to go — and he said, ‘we need to sell’.
He said, ‘get yourself a club because I don’t want you at Leeds’. And I said, ‘pay me up’. And he said, ‘you’re not getting a penny out of this club,’ and everything like that.
“So, there’s five of us. I think there was like me, Tony Yeboah, Carlton Palmer, Tony Dorigo, and he told us, ‘I want you all to leave’ like that. So find yourselves a club and I then prepared to stay
“Then, unfortunately, I think Alan Shearer broke his leg at Everton in pre-season and then Kenny rang me up. He said, ‘Are you fit?’ I said, ‘Well, I hope I am. I’m training with the kids’.
“So, basically, George Graham, I think he wanted 250 grand for me. And I went on a free. So Kenny then said said, ‘I’ll give you a year contract. But just tell them you’re coming on trial’.
“I said to George, ‘I’m going on trial at Newcastle’. I said to prove my fitness. He said, ‘If you go there, you can’t come back’.
“I mean, okay then, I’m not coming back because he’d already guaranteed me a year like. So, I’ll never forget him for that.”
Ian Rush’s view of Leeds fans after one season at Elland Road
Rush has played for Liverpool, Leeds, and Newcastle. That means he has played for three of the clubs with the largest and most passionate fanbases in the north of England.
Per HITC in 2016, Rush said the following on Leeds fans: ‘They’re one of six teams in the UK who have sold out every away game.
“That tells me how good Leeds supporters are.
“I tell you one thing about them, their support is absolutely fantastic.”
Even if the move and the end of his time at Leeds was not ideal, Leeds clearly had a profound impact on Rush.
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