James Milner criticized an old Liverpool teammate for his attitude as a young player before praising the unidentified star for changing it.
The midfielder, who can also play full back, left the Reds after eight seasons and 332 appearances, and he signed with Brighton in the summer.
21 years after making his top flight debut, he is still active in the Premier League at the age of 37.
Throughout his career, Milner has been recognized for his work ethic and professionalism. He has played for teams like Leeds, Newcastle, Aston Villa, and Man City.
But as he thought back on his time at Liverpool and the mindset needed to be successful, he questioned one player in particular.
He told Jake Humphrey on the High Performance podcast, “One of the young guys at Liverpool who had come through, he had amazing ability, was a bit of a joker and a great lad but maybe he didn’t apply himself as much as he could.”
He didn’t always act in the right way. We spent ten or fifteen minutes talking to him in the ice baths during the preseason, and it was one of those moments where you could tell he was listening but that it was going in one ear and out the other.
“He has an excellent attitude, but sometimes you just have to help him find the right path.”
With 629 Premier League appearances overall, Milner trails only Ryan Giggs by three and Gareth Barry by 23.
In all competitions this season, the 37-year-old has made 13 appearances for Brighton, who are currently in seventh place in the Premier League and have already advanced out of their Europa League group.
They play their first game back on Thursday, hosting Marseille, and then on Sunday they travel to the Emirates to play Arsenal.
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