Peter Gulacsi will return to Anfield this week when Villarreal face Liverpool in the Champions League, a ground he left at the age of 23 after his advisor gave then-manager Brendan Rodgers an ultimatum.
Gulacsi joined Liverpool from Hungarian club MTK as a teenager, but found opportunities limited behind first-choice goalkeeper Pepe Reina. His advisor presented Rodgers with three options: a permanent move to become a clear number one elsewhere, a two-year loan with a contract extension, or an extension that would make him the permanent number two at Anfield.
Ultimatum and Departure
"Rodgers became coach and he also wanted to look at all the goalkeepers first," Gulacsi told Goal in 2021. "He wanted to keep me as number three. Pepe was injured a lot again, so I must have been on the bench 15, 16 times. After the season, my advisor at the time spoke to Rodgers."
"He said, 'Peter is now 23 and going into the last year of his contract. There are exactly three paths for him: he leaves the club and becomes the clear number one somewhere, he extends the contract and is loaned out for two years, or the contract is extended and he becomes Liverpool's permanent number two.'"
"Rodgers said quite clearly that it will be difficult with the last two options, but they will not put any obstacles in my way."
Career Revival at Salzburg and Leipzig
Red Bull Salzburg took a chance on Gulacsi despite his senior experience at the time amounting to just 52 games in the EFL and domestic cups during loans at Hereford, Tranmere and Hull. He impressed in Austria, prompting sister club RB Leipzig to bring him in as they looked to climb the German pyramid.
He helped the club reach the Bundesliga under Ralf Rangnick and became a locked-in first choice under Ralph Hasenhuttl, eventually landing the captain's armband in 2021. When he left Leipzig at the end of the 2025/26 season, Gulacsi had more than 350 club appearances under his belt.
Learning from the Best
Despite never getting a competitive opportunity at Anfield, Gulacsi learned a lot from his team-mates and took the positives despite how things ended for him on Merseyside. Training with the likes of Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez was an experience he told The Athletic he would never forget, while also reserving some praise for Reina.
"We are completely different in terms of build and style," the Hungarian said. "Technically, he was a really strong goalkeeper but what I learned from him especially was having a kind of elite mindset."
"In those six years he missed, I think, maybe a few games. Because he was really, really focused on playing every single game. He was so consistent, never showing any weakness, he was strong all the time. To see that up close was an experience I could really use later in my career."
Gulacsi has faced Liverpool three times in the Champions League, in the 2020/21 and 2024/25 campaigns, with all three ending in defeat for Leipzig. He will hope for a change of fortunes this week, with Villarreal on one win and one defeat from their first two European outings.
