Milner can see gamble pay off

JAMES MILNER could have stayed at Manchester City last summer accruing more money and, probably, more medals.

Instead, the England midfielder turned down the offer of a new fouryear contract worth £34million to sign for Liverpool, convinced that what mattered most at this stage of his career was guaranteed game time.

Milner had grown tired of fighting for first-team opportunities over five years at the Etihad.

He won two Premier League titles with City, as well as a winner’s medal in the 2011 FA Cup Final and 2014 Capital One Cup Final.

The fact that both were collected as an unused substitute at Wembley underlined the problems Milner faced at City.

It went a long way to explaining his decision to reject a contract worth up to £165,000 a week and move to Anfield as a free agent in June.

Ten months on and now 30 years old, you sense that Milner would draw considerably more satisfaction from winning the Europa League with Liverpool.

The 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the quarterfinal was Liverpool’s 51st game of the season. Milner has started 34 of them — fourth highest among the outfield players in Jurgen Klopp’s squad — while establishing himself as a key figure in the new set-up.

As Liverpool go into Thursday’s home second leg with a clear chance of ousting the tournament favourites, he has every reason to hope that more silverware is on the way.

‘It would be nice to have a European medal to add to it,’ said Milner, who experienced the disappointment of losing the Capital One Cup Final to City on penalties in February.

‘That’s what it is all about, winning trophies.

‘When I came to Liverpool it was about playing more games and joining a great club but I wanted to be part of something and win trophies as well. We are capable of that and have shown we can beat anyone on our day.

‘Not many teams come to Dortmund and get a result like that. So it was a good effort and the goal puts us in a good position for the second leg.

‘European nights at Anfield are special. Let’s finish the job and get one step closer to a piece of silverware.’

In the meantime, Milner can help Liverpool leapfrog Stoke City today with victory in a 4pm kick-off at Anfield.