Current Leicester City manager and former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has revealed the surprise figure who helped convince James Milner to sign for the club.
The 33-year-old joined the European champions in 2015 while Rodgers was in charge of the club. Now, the Northern Irishman has recounted the negotiation period with the former England international.
“At that time, we felt that we needed that experience to come in,” he said, as per the Liverpool Echo. “It was a big decision for James. I remember travelling out one evening with Charlotte, my wife, and we were trying to coax him to come. So we went to his house and we sat down.
“Charlotte did the work on his wife, telling her what a great club Liverpool is and how it is an incredible place to come. And I went to work on James…”
OPINION
In football we tend to underestimate the vital part that a player’s family can play in said player’s decision to join a club or turn them down. It certainly appears that Milner’s wife was a key figure in his decision to join the Reds, with Rodgers’ better half clearly doing a good job selling Liverpool to Mrs. Milner. This was an important point in Milner’s career, with the Yorkshireman having made the decision to leave perennial winners Manchester City to try something new. Rodgers was obviously hugely keen to bring Milner to Anfield, and it’s proved to be one of the Leicester boss’ better decisions during his time on Merseyside. His recruitment wasn’t always spot on, but Milner has had a lasting legacy on the Reds and is still contributing massively to this day. Unfortunately that came back to haunt Rodgers on Saturday when the veteran stepped up to convert the stoppage time penalty that downed the Foxes at Anfield.
