Winning trophies is the dream of any footballer and to win the Champions League is often seen as the pinnacle of any career but one Scouser looks back on his crowning moment with a twinge of regret – because it wasn’t with Liverpool.
Speaking on the ‘We are Liverpool’ podcast, Steve McManaman talked about winning the European Cup in 2000 with Real Madrid: “The lads were in the dressing room, singing Spanish songs and lifting the president in the air – which I did. But I just felt as if I was a bit of a fraud…
“I remember thinking, ‘I would have loved to have done this with Liverpool’ – because I would’ve been right in the forefront of it all and really throwing myself into it”.
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It’s obvious that the man who spent four years with Los Blancos would have enjoyed the experience of winning the biggest trophy in domestic football but it’s also clear that his first success came a little too soon in his Spanish adventure.
Every young Red wants to win all the biggest trophies with their own club and after spending 10 years at Anfield, it’s clear that the now 51-year-old felt part and parcel of the club and so every trophy would have meant more to him – had it been claimed on Merseyside.
This was the issue that faced Steven Gerrard when he nearly left us in 2005, is it worth winning multiple trophies elsewhere if winning one with your club means so much more?
The Bootle-born winger wasn’t blessed to be in a side that was as successful as Jurgen Klopp’s have been in recent years and so perhaps he made the right decision but, as the famous tunnel says, ‘We are Liverpool, this means more’.