Ahead of Liverpool’s first friendly of their pre-season tour, Reds new boy James Milner spoke about trading Manchester City for the Merseyside giants and the influence the boss Brendan Rodgers had on his decision to leave the Citizens in search of regular, first team football.
“When I signed for City, the attraction of going there was that they had not won anything for a long, long time,” explained the England international. “I wanted to be a part of that and it’s a similar situation here. Liverpool have won so much over its great history but maybe over recent years they haven’t quite won what they’d like to. I see that opportunity again here to go and win,” he continued. “I saw the passion here when City were competing with them for the title two seasons ago. If you could win the title and other trophies here, it would be a fantastic place to do it.”
After stuttering to a disappointing sixth place finish last season, Liverpool have been busy in the transfer market, bringing in six players thus far and targeting even more as they look to force their way back into the Premier League’s top four — something both Rodgers and Milner will be tasked with delivering.
“Brendan had a massive role,” said Milner when asked if the Northern Irishman influenced his decision to leave the Etihad Stadium. “Obviously the club does not need selling, but I spoke to the manager about his plans for the team and for myself. He knew a lot about me,” continued the 29-year old. “After the conversation, I felt like I wanted to go and run through a brick wall for the manager and the club. He’s that sort of manager.”
