Speaking on the club’s new We Are Liverpool podcast, James Milner revealed how one of his greatest achievements in football turned into one of his biggest regrets.
When Liverpool won their first Premier League title in 2020, they ended their 30-year wait for a top Division title.
Nothing will ever take away this achievement from the club, the players and the coaching staff, but vice-captain Milner admitted that he “regrets” the circumstances in which they eventually won.
The Reds lifted the trophy at an empty Anfield at a time when the Covid pandemic stopped life as we know it and fans couldn’t celebrate in public.
And Milner says that despite the enormity of the achievement, the inability to celebrate with the club’s fans “still hurts.”
“I’ve already had a question about the biggest regrets or downfalls in my career,” he said.
“I always say that relegation with Leeds is one thing, but not celebrating the league title with Liverpool is another.
“It still hurts, 100 percent. And that’s why the parade was so important.
“Everyone was thrilled to win the Champions League, but everyone knew that we wanted the league title, how many league titles we had won before, and how long the Premier League had existed, and we had never done that.
“Obviously, it was a dream when I came here to win the league title with Liverpool. To do it, no matter how much the fans want it, and not be able to be together…
“And then the first game of the next season was Liverpool against Leeds. Leeds have not been in the Premier League for 17 years, Liverpool have just become league champions, for the first time in a long time, can you imagine the atmosphere of that game? And there was no one there.”
As Milner says, Liverpool managed to celebrate this event together with their fans at a parade earlier this year, which, despite the fact that it took place the day after the unforgettable Champions League final in Paris, was a really special day for the club and the city.
Since then, Jurgen Klopp has called this year’s parade a day that participants “will remember for the rest of their lives.”
But it is not surprising that Milner and the Liverpool players regret that at that time they could not celebrate their long-awaited Premier League title with the fans.
