Villarreal defender Alberto Moreno has opened up on his acrimonious Liverpool exit, admitting "I'll go to my grave not understanding" the criticism he received at Anfield.
Moreno moved to Liverpool from Sevilla in 2014, and went on to appear in 141 games across all competitions for the club, recording three goals and 11 assists.
The 28-year-old initially enjoyed a prominent role in Jurgen Klopp's set-up following his appointment as head coach, but fell down the pecking order after the Reds' 3-1 defeat to his former club in the 2016 Europa League final.
What's been said?
Moreno was singled out for intense criticism for his performance in the Basel showpiece, which he believes was unfair and marked the beginning of the end of his Anfield career, with Villarreal eventually snapping him up in July 2019.
“I still don’t understand the amount of criticism,” the left-back told The Guardian. “On the first goal they nutmegged me, sure. But I’m a defender. Players get past Sergio Ramos, the best centre-back in the world. Why can’t it happen to me?
“To this day I don’t understand why I got so, so much criticism, when the whole team didn’t play well. The finger was pointed at one player and I don’t think that’s OK. People blame you. Only you. It was like I lost the final. It’s hard. You can’t get it out of your head.
"You look at the paper, at social media – I don’t usually pay much attention to social media because it’s all so false – and read things. ‘Alberto, Alberto, Alberto, Alberto.’
"I’ll go to my grave not understanding why I got all the blame."
Moreno added: "That’s the start of a year without playing. My relationship with Klopp was perfect. But protecting me would have meant keeping faith, giving me chances which didn’t happen.
"I don’t know if that was Klopp or the club. I got back in the Spain squad after three years and just then, I injured my ankle. That was when Andy Robertson had his chance.
“He played at such a high level and that was it; I didn’t get any more chances.”
Moreno's injury woes at Villarreal
Moreno missed the first half of the 2020-21 campaign due to a cruciate knee ligament injury, and has only made eight appearances for Villarreal since returning to action in March.
The Spaniard claims that the issue is still hampering his form, but also admits that being on the sidelines for so long has adversely affected his mentality.
“My knee’s still not 100 per cent," he said. "I can do everything I want, but with certain movements you can feel it’s not completely right. With a long-term injury it’s more up here."
Moreno targeting Europa League glory
Moreno will be in line to feature in his third Europa League final when Villarreal take on Manchester United in Gdansk on Wednesday night, having won the competition with Sevilla in 2013-14.
"We’ve made history already; if we win our names will be written into the books forever. Beating United would round it all off," he said of what a victory would mean to him. "I’ve had a rough time the last six months but I’m getting minutes again, which is a huge reward. Winning would be incredible.
“Playing again, training with my team-mates, even sitting on the bench after such a serious injury, able to experience another final, is amazing. For a year that started so badly to end like this makes it a great year.”
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