Former Liverpool midfielder James Milner has expressed his joy at seeing the Reds triumph in the Premier League this season, while singling out Mohamed Salah for special praise due to the Egyptian’s exceptional qualities.
Despite moving to Brighton in 2023, Milner’s legacy at Anfield remains notable; during his eight-year spell, he tallied an impressive 332 appearances, contributing 26 goals and 45 assists. His return to the stadium recently — for Brighton’s encounter with his former club that ended in a narrow 3-2 defeat for the Reds — offered a chance for him to reconnect with his old colleagues.
A pivotal figure in clinching the league title with Liverpool back in 2020, Milner maintained close ties with his past Liverpool teammates and didn’t hesitate to pass on his well-wishes following their latest triumph.
“Yeah, of course (I’ve been keeping an eye on them), yeah,” Milner told Pro Direct Soccer. “It’s always nice to see your previous clubs doing well.
“I still have a lot of mates there (at Liverpool) and you always want them to do well and especially when… like obviously (at) Liverpool, I spent so long there.
“Obviously Newcastle, I knew how much they wanted to win a trophy for so long and then finally getting over the line. So yeah, it’s obviously nice to see that.
“The Liverpool boys, I obviously keep in touch with them, send on the congratulations, and it’s good to see them doing well.”
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Later, Milner picked Salah as his Premier League player of the season and revealed that the Egyptian would regularly speak to him during their time as teammates. Salah often sought advice and strived to keep improving as a player.
“I think it’s tough to look past Mo Salah,” he said. “You know his numbers are incredible and being lucky enough to play with him and seeing his work rate, how hard he looks after himself, how well he looks after himself, how hard he works in the gym.
“Yeah, he’s great. He does his side for the team. The best players are always a little bit selfish, you need that, but that belief in himself is incredible.
“In front of goal, fantastic some of the goals he scored, but a really good teammate. Those elite players, sometimes it’s more about them for the team but he was a great balance I’d say.
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“Yeah, incredible. And always wanted to try to find an edge. He was always asking, he was never afraid to ask people their opinion or what do you think.
“We had many discussions on penalties and things like that and he’d ask for advice and he then assesses it himself and says, ‘Yeah, I agree with that. No I don’t.’
“And he does it, but he’s not scared to ask. Someone of his ability, it says a lot about him always wanting to be better. I’m sure he reached out to many people… how he could improve and do things.”
Liverpool.com says: Salah is definitely the Premier League Player of the Year. The Egyptian has already picked up the FWA edition of the award, and more will come his way when the league season is over.
