James Milner has previously stated that Liverpool are a bigger club than Manchester City, having played for both sides. The former midfielder spent five years at City between 2010 and 2015, before moving to Liverpool, where he remained until 2023.
Milner's Move for Game Time
Milner left the Etihad at the end of his contract in 2015, having won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a Capital One Cup with the Blues. He retired from football in June at the age of 40, and explained that the transfer was made to guarantee maximum playing time.
Speaking in 2015, he said: “It’s a huge club and Man City, maybe over the course of history, isn’t as quite as big as Liverpool.”
He added: “At this moment in time, City are doing very well and expected to win trophies. The set-up is all there. I had a lot of conversations with the hierarchy at City and they never said a bad word about me. It was just their opinions on where I fitted in.”
Liverpool Success and Trophies
Milner served as Liverpool's vice-captain and won six major trophies during his time on Merseyside, including the Champions League and two Premier League titles. He made 332 appearances for the Reds.
Upon joining Liverpool, he said: “Obviously the club does not need selling. It’s a massive club globally, with the history. But I spoke to the manager [then Brendan Rodgers] about his plans for the team and for myself. He knew a lot about me.”
He continued: “Coming to Anfield and seeing how much it meant and how much people wanted Liverpool to win it because it had been that long, the neutrals as well. So we knew how big it was and that was so important, obviously, to do that – to start our own history.”
Sunday's Clash at Anfield
Liverpool and City meet at Anfield on Sunday, with City facing 114 charges for financial breaches still in the news. City are currently top of the Premier League, while Liverpool are unbeaten so far in all competitions under Andoni Iraola.
