John Arne Riise was left in tears after Rafael Benitez denied him a fitting Liverpool farewell. The Norwegian, who spent seven years at Anfield during the 2000s and was part of the 2005 Champions League-winning team, was deeply affected by his abrupt departure in 2008.
Riise was so upset that he found himself crying in his car after being informed he had no future with the club. Having just played in the Champions League semi-final loss to Chelsea, Riise was only two matches shy of reaching 350 appearances for the Reds.
However, the match at Stamford Bridge turned out to be his swansong for Liverpool as Benitez bluntly told him he was planning to bring in Andrea Dossena as a replacement left-back that summer.
Now 44, Riise recounted his experience to BetMGM’s The LineUp: “I was in training and someone came down and told me the boss wanted to speak with me. With only two games left of the season, I thought it might be to discuss a new contract.
“He sat me down and with absolutely no warning at all, he told me it was best if we went our separate ways at the end of the season. I’m thinking with 348 games for Liverpool across seven seasons, I deserved a bit of an explanation.
“I knew they were bringing in Andrea Dossena because he had told me, so I had a choice to stay and fight for my place or leave.
“However, we all know that, when a new player comes in, they can basically be as bad as they like for the first few months, and they’re still going to play.
“At the age of 27 I couldn’t risk sitting on the bench for five months until January. I knew what I needed to do.”
(Image: Daily Mirror)
An emotional Riise declined Benitez’s offer to assist in finding a new club and was subsequently denied the opportunity for a couple of farewell matches. He shared: “He asked if I needed help finding a new club but I didn’t want his help, so I said no.
“Before I left I asked him if it was possible for me to come on as a sub for the last two games of the season so I could reach 350 appearances for the club. He flatly replied ‘no, no chance’.
“I told my team-mates who, like me, were pretty confused and then I went and sat by myself in my car and cried. I called my agent, cried to him and he assured me that he’d find me a new club in a few days.
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“It felt like I’d been fired. I was really disappointed but the one thing I will say is that I had a huge amount of respect that Rafa told me face-to-face. Even though he was brutally honest, he said it directly to me.
“I still to this day don’t know the reason why he wanted me to leave Liverpool. We have a good relationship and I’ve seen him plenty of times since but he has never told me why.”
Following his departure from Liverpool in 2008, Riise went on to play for an array of clubs including Roma, Fulham, and teams in Cyprus and India, before hanging up his boots for good in 2023.
