Of course, the former England captain ended up staying with the Reds and becoming our all-time record goalscorer, but he concedes his frustration, prompted by his discontent over the sale of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, adversely affected his relationship with manager Sir Alex Ferguson and the supporters.
It is something he fully understands, especially in retrospect, and he is grateful that he was able to agree fresh terms with chief executive David Gill, only a matter of days after Sir Alex had dropped the bombshell by revealing his striker's desire to leave in a press conference ahead of the Champions League tie with Bursaspor in the October.