Former Atlanta United star George Bello has praised his time at the club ahead of the now-LASK defender facing Liverpool.
Speaking to World Football Index, the 21-year-old left-back praised how the Five Stripes gave him a platform to flourish in MLS and allowed him to move on to Europe at the right time in his career.
Bello was one of Atlanta’s first true wonderkids as the defender made a name for himself in MLS, eventually becoming a full US international.
Now at Austrian side LASK, Bello could this week feature against Liverpool in the UEFA Europa League, with the defender praising Atlanta for getting him this far in his career.
Bello said: “My heart will always be in Atlanta because it is where I am from but I always wanted to play in Europe and the club gave me the opportunity to do that by giving me a platform to play in MLS.
“I will always be grateful to them for that and for the trust they placed in me.”
Bello would not be where he is now without Atlanta United
At 21, Bello is still very much at the start of his soccer career, yet things could have been a lot different had the defender not started off at Atlanta.
The Five Stripes were brave enough to give the youngster his first starts in the professional game, and Atlanta were rewarded handsomely with Bello’s development exceeding everyone’s expectations.
Now in Europe and set to face off against Liverpool, Bello’s career could be about to take another level, with a good performance against the Premier League giants something that could put the defender on the map.