Former Liverpool fullback Steve Finnan is still coming to grips with his move to Espanyol.
The Irish full back left Merseyside to smooth the path of Albert Riera's switch to Anfield although it is believed Finnan would have played a similar role in Gareth Barry's transfer from Aston Villa to Liverpool had it not hit the rocks.
"It was totally out of the blue," Finnan told the Liverpool Post. "It's exciting to be going to a great club in Spain but I didn't want to leave.
"But it was obvious that I wasn't going to get a game by staying so I didn't really have much choice."