Ex-Liverpool man Daniel Agger comes out to deny bizarre claims that he has been arrested in Russia

Former Liverpool defender Daniel Agger has come out to rubbish bizarre claims that he was due before a judge in Moscow yesterday after he was arrested in the Russian capital. 

Reports surfaced that Agger, 36, who played for the Reds for eight years and retired from football in 2016, had been jailed on Saturday for taking part in a protest in support of Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader who was himself jailed after being treated for a suspected federal security service poisoning. 

But the ex-Denmark international put those rumours to bed with a tweet on Monday saying that he is ‘safe and sound in Spain‘ and joking: ‘I have never said “there is only one Daniel Agger.” And now we know for sure!’ 

Daniel Agger came out to rubbish reports that he had been arrested for taking part in a protest

As it turns out, the story is not completely fabricated: there is indeed a ‘D M Agger’ who was due before a judge on Monday.

However, the ‘Agger’ in question is in fact a man formerly known as Dmitry Kendrel, who changed his name in 2009 to the same of the then-Liverpool player, according to Russian outlet Baza, as reported by state-broadcaster RT. 

Kendrel reportedly claimed he was the former pro footballer, before he was rumbled due to his Russian being too good and, unsurprisingly, looking nothing like the Anfield favourite. 

Clashes between protestors and police did take place over the weekend in Moscow, with hundreds of thousands joining in and the US condemning the ‘brutal tactics’ of cops beating protestors.  

Agger tweeted: ‘There is a bit of confusion out there. I have never said: “there is only one Daniel Agger.” And now we know for sure. 

There were protests in Russia on Saturday over the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny

‘The Daniel Agger mentioned in an incident in Moscow is not me. I’m safe and sound in Spain.’

Agger made 232 appearances for Liverpool in eight years at the club, having been brought in by Rafael Benitez in the summer of 2006. 

He scored 14 goals during his time at the club, famously scoring in the 2007 Champions League semi-final second leg against Chelsea – he was also part of the team which won the 2012 League Cup.