A goalkeeper who turned down Liverpool’s offer now making millions of TikTok views.
Dan Atherton, an enduring Liverpool supporter, is now making millions of TikTok views.
Atherton was allowed to stick around and be a training goalkeeper but wanted to move on and try to advance his career elsewhere.
He was on loan at Marine for a season during the second half of last season and the now-21-year-old had been practicing with the Liverpool first team, on and off, for over five years.
Finding a new club has not been easy during the lockdown, with Atherton now in the US where he examining his potential next steps while instructing and coaching over there.
Social media, though, has been something that has taken off for him, and, like many during the lockdown, video-sharing social network TikTok has remained the core.
Atherton performs tricks with his feet, posts training videos and saves, and a smattering of other types of videos too, and has racked up millions of views.
But is that to try and impress coaches and clubs he could potentially sign for, or is it just something that can be done to pass the time?
“It’s a little bit of both,” he told the ECHO in an independent Blood Red podcast interview.
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“If you speak to anyone in football, it is about making connections and who you know.
It is a very opinionated sport and one reason for the social media, especially Instagram and LinkedIn, to try and make connections with goalkeeping coaches all over the world.
“The stuff on TikTok is more for my mental health than anything else, because let’s be honest, me doing a double round-the-world and a couple of tricks is not going to get me a contract as a goalkeeper!
“But it just gives me something [to do]. My personality is that if I’m not doing something, I feel like I’m wasting time, so if I’m not in the gym, or running, or working hard, or playing or coaching, I feel like I’m wasting time.
“That is when you can go down a dark path, especially working at home and not getting out much.
“The TikTok stuff is a bit of fun but it is getting a bit bigger as it goes on and I’ve ended up with around 15,000 followers and one of the videos has 8.1m views.
“It is doing well but it is mainly just because it is not hard on the legs, it doesn’t take a lot out of me, but it is something I enjoy doing.
“It is just over a year now since I made the decision to leave Liverpool and it is difficult, so that is mainly for mental health to keep myself sane.”
The search for what next proceeds but while he didn’t eventually make the grade at Anfield, the goalkeeper could not have much expertise to put forward to possible suitors.
“I think as far as CVs are concerned, you can’t ask for anything bigger than LFC,” Atherton added.
“The period of football they were enjoying during that spell as well – that pre-season and season, I was training with them and we won the league and the Champions League.
“It was a very successful year and to be in and around that is something I have always dreamed of as a Liverpool fan.
“There is no real words you can use to describe it.”
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A goalkeeper who turned down Liverpool’s offer now making millions of TikTok views.
