Milner's Liverpool impact summed up as Klopp pays him ultimate compliment
Amid all the outpouring of emotion at Anfield last weekend, as a quartet of stars said their goodbyes to the Kop, James Milner cut a slightly bemused figure.
He is not one for the limelight, admitting after that tribute from a packed Anfield: “I get more emotional talking about the other boys, I get more emotional when it’s about other people.”
Yet for all the focus on Roberto Firmino, with the fans singing the Brazilian’s name throughout the final game at the famous old stadium, there was still a significant moment when the Kop burst into a song about the veteran midfielder.
There is no wonder. Jurgen Klopp says Milner has been the heartbeat of everything his team has achieved during the manager’s reign on Merseyside, saying now with emphasis:
“Nothing positive that happened in the last seven and a half years would have happened without James Milner. I think I am the manager he played the most games for, and my English is not good enough to properly express the incredible respect I have for him.”
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush
It is a significant point from Klopp. Milner has often been conceived as a bit part player for the Reds, a reliable stand-in. Yet he has played 331 games for Liverpool, which places him 55th in the club’s all time appearance list.
Given the trophies he has won - and the influence he’s had on the dressing room, that qualifies him as one the club’s greats, as key an influence as the likes of Emlyn Hughes or Graeme Souness in the club’s illustrious history.
Milner has played 331 games for the Reds (PA)Yet he has no interest in judging himself by those standards. And as he contemplates a spell at Anfield where he has played more games than for any other club in his long career, there was always just one aim he set for himself.
“I'm fortunate now that we've managed to achieve what we have, and pretty much what I wanted to achieve when I came here. That doesn't happen too often, does it?" he said, with typical pragmatism.
“I’ve been here for eight years - lucky enough to wear the number seven shirt here - and I don’t suppose it will be seen in the full back positions again!”
Those trophies are a clean sweep of just about everything a Premier League player can lift, but Milner was always clear-sighted in what he wanted to win when he came for Liverpool.
He arrived from Manchester City after winning the league there, with many assuming he was winding down his career at the age of 29 when he signed. But there was ambition still.
“I wanted to come here and win trophies and have success. There weren’t too many trophies in the recent history before I came and it was like, 'Can you change that? Can you go and win a league title?'
The midfielder won every major honour with the club (Getty Images)“Let’s face it, the league was the one the fans wanted - it hadn’t been won for a long time and we knew they were desperate for it. To walk away now and know that's been done and achieved, that's amazing.
“And that's exactly why I wanted to come here and we've managed to do that.”
Everton chiefs face transfer backlash from fans after deadline day disaster
What Milner didn’t say is that he has also been part of three Champions League finals with Liverpool, famously winning one…which is more than Manchester City have done since he left.
That completes a career clean sweep of trophies, and makes him one of the Premier League greats. But he isn’t finished yet. “I will be really sad to go, it's an amazing club and I'm proud and happy to have been part of it for this long.
"I'm Leeds through and through and always have been and always will be – but I never probably thought that another club would get into me as much as Liverpool has.
"That says everything about the place and the fans and the history and what we've created here, but also the group of people. So it’s sad - but I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
That challenge could take him to Brighton to use all his experience as they move into Europe for the first time. And another trophy perhaps, to cap an incredible career with one last impossible swansong.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
