James Milner is proud to be following in the footsteps of the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Steve McManaman and Luis Suarez as Liverpool’s No.7 and is determined to help the club land more major silverware.
The 34-year-old joined the Reds in 2015 having enjoyed considerable success at Manchester City.
He had to be patient in pursuit of medals, with final heartache suffered in domestic cup and European competition, but a Champions League triumph in 2019 got the Reds back to winning ways.
Milner has been a key component in Jurgen Klopp’s plans, with a versatile operator filling defensive and midfield berths while donning a jersey made famous by some illustrious figures that went before him.
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On filling that shirt and getting Liverpool back in the winners’ enclosure, Milner told Sky Sports: "I was desperate to get a trophy for this club.
"You walk into Melwood every day and you see the trophies the club has won every single day.
"Getting to the Champions League final the year before, going close in the Premier League, the Europa League final and the League Cup final, having those near misses. That obviously made it even more special when we got there, but it's a massive thing playing for a club the size of Liverpool.
"When you see the history and every day you see the players who have played, the players who have pulled on the No.7 shirt before me. When you are playing, playing at Anfield and you get a taste of that atmosphere.
"You get to finals, but you are not quite getting over the line - to finally get over the line and contribute number six, which we know how massive that is for the club, how important it is and the relationship the club has with the European Cup."
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Having landed a sixth Champions League crown, Liverpool have gone on to savour UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup triumphs, while also waiting on a coronation as Premier League champions in 2020 after a 30-year wait for top-flight supremacy.
Milner added on getting a taste for glory once more: "It's a similar thing that we had at Man City.
"It was so important to get off the mark and win that first trophy and it was massive for us as a group. It's always important to win that first one and we managed to get the Super Cup and the World Championship this year and it'd be nice to add more.
"But it was big to get over the line and add that first one together as a team and that then gives you all the tools to go on and push on, and hopefully we can win more.
"We don't want to be known as the team that won just that one trophy, we want to push on and see if we can win as many as we can."
