James Milner told BT Sport that Aston Villa’s stand-in coach Mark Delaney told him that he ‘cannot believe’ that the Liverpool legend is still playing.
As Delaney was coming towards the end of his career at Villa Park, Milner was starting to make a name for himself under a then-Champions League and title-chasing Martin O’Neil side.
Well, the duo re-united on Friday night when Liverpool’s star-studded line-up knocked out Aston Villa’s teenagers from the FA Cup.
After the game was concluded, Milner briefly shared what Delaney told him.
On some of the Villa players not being born when he made his pro debut: “Thanks for that,” Milner responded.
“Then see D [Mark Delaney] on the side and he was saying ‘I cannot believe I am still going when I played with him’.”
It’s a credit to Milner that at the age of, 35, he is still going strong and looking to add more trophies to his cabinet.
He was won everything there is to win on the domestic scene and he is an individual who is highly-regarded in the game.
Whether it’s at his boyhood club Leeds, up in Newcastle, at Aston Villa where they were chasing Europe, at Manchester City or now with the champions of England, he is a legend at all of those clubs.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
