Former Liverpool player makes shocking confession: he deliberately injured a teammate during training to secure a spot in the starting lineup.

Ex-Liverpool Player Sued After Admitting to Intentionally Injuring Teammate to Advance His Career

A former Liverpool academy player faced legal action after publicly confessing to injuring a teammate on purpose in an attempt to further his own career.

The incident dates back to 2016 during Jürgen Klopp’s early days at the club, when Liverpool faced Exeter City in the FA Cup third round. With several first-team players sidelined due to injury, opportunities opened up for younger players to step in.

Among those hopefuls was academy product Tom Brewitt, who was desperate to make his senior debut. However, he admitted on a podcast in 2020 that he deliberately injured fellow youth defender Dan Cleary in training, believing only one of them would be selected.

Brewitt confessed that he “absolutely topped” Cleary in a seven-a-side session, purposefully going over the ball with a reckless tackle. Though he acknowledged the act wasn’t something to be proud of, he claimed he wasn’t ashamed either, framing it as a necessary sacrifice for his own ambitions.

He explained that despite getting along well with Cleary, he consciously decided to target him in training a week before the Exeter match, ultimately leaving Cleary on crutches after the clash. Brewitt insisted he didn’t intend to seriously harm him, just to remove him from contention for the upcoming game.

Following the incident, the two clashed on the pitch, with Cleary reportedly sent off due to his reaction. While Brewitt finished the session, he later sustained a concussion himself and missed out on the squad, with Jose Enrique filling in at center-back. Brewitt would never make a first-team appearance and eventually left the club for Middlesbrough’s youth setup.

Over the years, he went on to play for clubs including AFC Fylde, Morecambe, and Swindon Town, and now plays for Orange County SC in the U.S.

In 2024, Cleary launched a lawsuit against both Brewitt and Liverpool, seeking £200,000 in damages for loss of potential career earnings and emotional distress. He claimed the tackle left him fearing a broken leg and contributed to depression and a derailed career. Both Brewitt and the club denied liability.

Cleary, who also never made a senior appearance for Liverpool, later played for clubs such as Birmingham City, Dundalk, and currently Shamrock Rovers. Responding publicly after Brewitt’s admission surfaced in a video, Cleary criticized the act, stating, “There’s being determined and then there’s this.” He added, “Karma always works its way back in football. Blowing out someone else’s candle doesn’t make yours shine any brighter,” and said he was “lucky” to leave with his leg intact.