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Former Manchester City Star explains why he choose Liverpool

 

England midfielder James Milner is convinced he made the right decision to leave Manchester City for Liverpool and is now determined to take manager Brendan Rodgers young squad in the right direction.


Just as Raheem Sterling heads off in the opposite direction following a £49 million transfer Milner has no regrets about walking away from the Etihad despite Manuel Pellegrini trying to persuade him to stay.


Many people however have questioned the 29-year-olds decision to leave a team playing Champions League football for another desperate to get back to the lofty heights they once played season after season, but Milner says that was part of the challenge that appealed to him when Rodgers asked him to sign for the club.


“When I signed for City, the attraction of going there was that they had not won anything for a long, long time,” Milner said.


“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.


“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.”


Another motivation for the midfielder was that he was tired of being used as a utility player who was always played out of position to accommodate City’s other stars, and wanted to be with a team who would give him the opportunity to constantly start in his favoured central midfield role.


“It was a difficult decision because the fans were amazing with me at City,” he said. “City is also a great club to play football at but ‘playing football’ are the key words in that sentence.


“I spoke to Man City about the players they were looking to sign and where they saw me fitting into the team.


“That role of filling in, more when other people aren’t available, playing all over the field, I don’t think it lets you show your best football.


“It’s one disappointment that I did not get the chance to maybe play 20 games in the middle at City and show people what I could do.


“It was very frustrating at times. There were times when I felt like I was left out of the team unfairly. But that’s football and you have to get on with it.


“There’s no guarantee that I’ll come here and play every game but the manager thinks my best position is in the middle.


“At times at City I won player of the month and then didn’t play for three, four or five games after. I feel here if I play well, I’ll keep the shirt. It’s down to me.


“It’s such a big club and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it. There’s a great opportunity here for us to do something great.”


Arsenal also was interested in Milner’s signature, but he says a meeting with Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers made up his mind to move to Anfield.


“Brendan had a massive role,” he said.


“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.


“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.


“It’s a huge club and Man City, maybe over the course of history, isn’t as quite as big as Liverpool.


“I could have easily stayed at City for another four or five years, being around the club, helping us win things. But over the next few years my game time would have reduced.


“When I’m older I want to look back and say that I became the best player I could.”


As well as trying to step into a team with a huge hole following the departure of Steven Gerrard to the MLS he also knows that being one of the senior players in the team he will have to show his leadership skills as well.


“Only one person can wear the armband, but you need so many leaders out there,” Milner said.


“It’s a big role for me coming in as a more experienced player and leading by example. You need those leaders all over the field and that’s massively important.


“The manager has spoken to me about that and he sees I can do that role. I’ve been around at this level since I was 16 and I’ve been lucky enough to win trophies.


“If I can use my experience to help the younger guys along that’s what I’ll do.


“There’s a lot of football left in me and hopefully I’ll be a part of a massively successful period.”


When asked if the departure of last season’s two biggest scorers would have an effect Milner pointed to the summer business the club was involved with.


“There’s a great squad here – a good mix of young English players and foreign players and a great coaching staff too,” he added.


“I’m not just coming here because I want to play more football, we’ve got a great chance of winning trophies. That’s what a club like Liverpool wants to do. The expectation and pressure is there to go on and win things.


“A lot of players have been brought in and the club is looking to move forward.


“You’re a long time retired, and when I’m sat there in my armchair when I’ve finished I don’t want to look back and have any regrets, wishing I’d done that tiny bit more or done this or that.


“Time does fly and you’ve got to enjoy it. I’m at that stage where I know I have to ensure I can look back at the end of my career and know that I have been the best I can, and couldn’t have given any more or been a better player.”

 

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