Santa Claus lookalike Portuguese defender who joined the Reds for £800k in what seemed a cut price deal at the time from neighbours Everton midway through the 2001/02 season.
Xavier proved to be a terrible signing, his arrival spelled the end for promising young local full back Stephen Wright, who found himself on the sidelines as Gerard Houllier tried to justify the outlay he'd made on Xavier. Wright had impressed at right back but was immediately moved to the left to accommodate Xavier and then lost his place when regular left back John Arne Riise returned.
Wright nay not have been the long term answer, but 800k plus a massive salary for a player that did not bring any more to the table than a local kid who cost nothing and was on a fraction of the wages represented an awful bit of business
A solid, reliable performer for Everton, Xavier failed to show those qualities in his time at Anfield and was often a liability. Used almost exclusively at right back, his lack of pace and slowness on the turn caused him countless problems against quick wingers. He seemed completely incapable of preventing crosses coming in.
There were some high points, notably a goal in the 6-0 drubbing of Ipswich at Portman Road and a goal in the 4-2 defeat in Germany to Leverkusen, but overall Xavier struggled to make any impact at Anfield and never looked like justifying the reported £40k a week salary he picked up during his time at the club.
That hefty salary made it difficult for the Reds to get shut of the player, but eventually Turkish side Galatasaray came in and took him on loan. The move turned sour pretty quickly, however, and the Turks cut short the deal early and sent him back to Merseyside.
Liverpool didn't want him back, however, and ended up paying up the remainder of his contract rather than allow him to return to the club.
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