Liverpool midfielder James Milner says playing for Leeds again before retiring ‘would be amazing’
James Milner says ‘it would be amazing in so many different ways’ to play for Leeds again before he retires.
The 33-year-old came through the club’s academy and made 54 appearances before sealing a £3.6million move to Newcastle in 2004.
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Milner is in the final year of his Liverpool contract, and has already said he wants to stay at Anfield beyond next summer.
But he still appears to have his eyes on an emotional Elland Road return.
In his new book, Ask a Footballer: My Guide to Kicking a Ball About, Milner said: “I get asked this all the time.
“Any time I bump into a Leeds fan – or even my mates back home – it’s always, ‘When are you coming back? When are you coming home?’
“There would be so many things to weigh up – not just for myself or my family, but for Leeds.
“If I was being released by another club, would they want me? It would be pointless for them and for me if I wasn’t needed at the time and it was just some kind of nostalgia trip.
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“You can probably tell from what I’m saying that I love the club, but I also love playing for Liverpool and I want to play at the highest level for as long as I can.
“If my time at Liverpool came to an end and I was going to go somewhere else and Leeds were one of the clubs that were interested in me, then that would be a very exciting option for all the reasons I mention.”
Leeds are looking to end their 16-year exile from the Premier League this season – they sit third in the Championship table after 14 games.
They came close to winning promotion last term, but were beaten by Derby in the play-off semi-finals.
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Leeds’ 2018/19 campaign was documented and made into a six-part series on Amazon Prime called ‘Take Us Home: Leeds United’.
The mini series reminded Milner about his love for the club.
He added: “When I see the atmosphere at Elland Road and I hear the crowd, it makes me proud.
“The fan relationship changes when you’re a professional player and you move on to different clubs, but I still follow them and look out for their scores every weekend.
“Watching Take Us Home, you get a real feeling for how desperate everyone is for the club to get back to the Premier League, where it belongs.
“To go back and play for my hometown club again would be amazing in so many different ways.
“All I can really say is that I still love the club and I still love the fans.
“It’s a regret that I didn’t play for Leeds longer. I didn’t want to leave and I felt like I was only really getting started at the club, but it was an unfortunate time for me to be coming through at Leeds.”
October 31, 2019 at 04:16PM Premier League Football Fixtures and Results - talkSPORT https://talksport.com
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