Ex-Real’s McManaman hopes Liverpool can ace this one
dubai — The Uefa Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid is a tough one to call but Steve McManaman, who plied his trade for both, said it would be good to see The Reds ace this one.
Liverpool take on the Los Blancos in the final in Kiev on May 26 and McManaman, who made 272 appearances across nine seasons with Liverpool and 94 appearances with Real Madrid during which he won two Champions League titles, hoped Jurgen Klopp’s men can triumph in the Ukrainian capital.
“I would probably prefer if it is one or the other because I have so many friends in both camps. Which one is going to win and one is going to lose it is hard to say. The fact that they (Liverpool) haven’t won it in a while and Real Madrid have won it too many times, it will be nice to see Liverpool win this one,” McManaman told media during the LFC World Dubai 2018.
Liverpool face an anxious wait for a sixth Champions League title since 2005, while Madrid are gunning a 13th and third on the trot.
McManaman, who won the FA Cup and the League Cup with Liverpool, also said that although the front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have been in cracking form, credit should also go to captain Jordan Henderson and his deputy James Milner.
“It is going to be an incredible occasion for the fact that they can put themselves in the history books, rewrite LFC history which is long and very successful. The sort of players that are playing for Liverpool now, can emulate the likes of Steven (Gerrard), the Kenny Dalglishs, the John Barnes and these superstars of the past that have won the Champions League for Liverpool,” he said.
“The front three, we always talk about because they score all the goals but the likes of James Milners and the Jordan Hendersons who have been quietly underestimated but the fact that they are now there in the final, driving this team forward. It is an incredibly proud occasion and I’m actually thrilled. The one thing you want them to do now is to get over the finish line,” added the 46-year-old. McManaman also spoke highly of Klopp, with the German instilling a philosophy of ‘heavy metal football.’
“I think any manager to who manages Liverpool, in the end, wants to be successful. He has taken the club to a League Cup, the Europa League final, of course this is the biggest one and he wants to win like everybody. Any manager and any player wants to win trophies and this is a wonderful opportunity to bring the biggest trophy home,” said McManaman.
The former midfielder hoped Mo Salah can replicate his form next season and beyond and squashed rumours that the Egyptian star is headed to Real Madrid. “He still has to reproduce the form that he has this year the next year and the year after and year after. I don’t see him playing for Real Madrid any time soon,” he felt.
Salah has sizzled and sparkled, plundering 43 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions, in his first season with The Reds.
Meanwhile, McManaman also backed embattled striker Gareth Bale to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Welshman has fallen down the pecking order, being used sporadically by manager Zinedine Zidane. And rumours are swirling that the 28-year-old, who joined from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, could be looking elsewhere. He has a contract that runs until 2022.
“I think that will be entirely up to him. Speaking to him, speaking to the people he knows, who know him so well over there, he seems to be very happy there, he seems to be very settled.
“Look, he’s been there five years, this is his fifth year is it? I think he is still under contract so I think it is down to him whether he feels if he’s not playing or doesn’t play in the final that might trigger what he wants to do, I personally don’t know but all the talk I’ve seen is that he is very happy over there,” McManaman said.
james@khaleejtimes.com
I would probably prefer if it is one or the other because I have so many friends in both camps. Which one is going to win and one is going to lose it is hard to say.