Robbie Fowler has revealed Chelsea made a bid for his services in the early 2000s in a move that made him realise his days at Liverpool were numbered.Fowler remains one of Liverpool’s greatest academy products, rising through the ranks to play 369 games across two spells at the club, scoring 183 goals and lifting five trophies.He left for Leeds in 2001 after falling out of favour under Gerard Houllier, departing in a £12 million deal before later signing for Man City and then rejoining the Reds in 2006.His career could have taken a turn towards Stamford Bridge, though, with Chelsea having made a bid for his services before Leeds came to the table, though Liverpool denied a fee had been agreed.Fowler revealed the little known story while talking to Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Paddy McGuinness on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast.“I left on my terms, and I don’t even think this is common knowledge, but the club had tried to sell me a few times,” Fowler revealed when discussing his exit. “This is where you talk about loyalty in football and players are not loyal, but sometimes it’s the other way round as well, so clubs, for me, are not loyal.“They tried to sell me I think to Newcastle, Villa and Chelsea. So, Gianluca Vialli (former Chelsea manager) phoned me up one night, and he’s gone, ‘The clubs have agreed a fee so when can you come down?’“I went, ‘Oof’, a bit taken aback. Yeah [that was the first time I heard about it].“I had to speak to the club in the morning and I went back to the club and the club denied it, and I went, ‘Well, he’s just phoned me.’“To prove it, they wanted to send me a fax – that’s how long ago it was – an affidavit of the club’s agreeing [a fee], so I knew my days at Liverpool were numbered.“I left on my terms, but I felt as though I was forced to go.”A transfer to Chelsea did not eventuate – he would have been only the fourth player to join directly from Liverpool – but for Fowler, the writing was on the wall that Liverpool were ready to move on, which they did in December 2001.The striker, then 26, was no longer a regular and joined Leeds, and while it was “hard to take” at the time, Fowler admits that his time away from Anfield allowed him to “appreciate it more” when he came back in 2006.“I think I scored 18 goals, and scored in the League Cup and UEFA Cup final, and I came on in the FA Cup final when we were losing,” Fowler reflected on the season before his exit.“I get it, but it’s hard to take as a player because you’ve done ever so well in your career and then all of a sudden you’re not that player and you know your days are numbered. “Especially when you’re getting phone calls [saying] ‘You can sign for this club’, and then Leeds came in and then I knew.“In a silly sort of way, I’m glad I left Liverpool because I got to appreciate it more going back and what life was like at other clubs.”Fowler would only make 12 appearances after rejoining the club, but he has always enjoyed a special connection with Liverpool fans, earning him the nickname ‘God’ and a mural on the streets of Anfield.