Adam Lallana says his emotional exit from Liverpool even brought "tough Yorkshireman" James Milner to the verge of tears.
Former England midfielder Lallana departed the Reds this summer following the expiration of his contract, joining Brighton and Hove Albion on a free transfer.
He had joined the Reds from Southampton in the summer of 2014, and after initially impressing and becoming a key player under both Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp, injuries ended up restricting his game-time with the Reds.
However, his influence on the team went far deeper than just his performances on the pitch, as Lallana helped set the standards in Liverpool's training sessions and nurtured young players.
Milner, who remains contracted to Liverpool until 2022, is a similar standard-bearer off the pitch, and Lallana says the manner of his exit clearly got to his old teammate after he had recorded an emotional interview with Liverpool's in-house media channels.
“I was kind of avoiding doing that interview as I just knew my emotion was building," Lallana told the Mail Online.
“I am an emotional person and I knew this was the end of a chapter for myself, my wife and the kids. The interview was just raw emotion. In life sometimes things are just sad, aren't they? As a family we were saying goodbye to friends and leaving schools and stuff.
“So I got upset in that interview and then on the Friday at training I said goodbye and the manager gathered everyone round. The lads had done me a framed shirt and a nice quote from Hendo [Jordan Henderson]. I was crying so much that I was just laughing in the end.
“Then we started the warm-up and Milly [James Milner] said me crying had almost set him off. From a tough Yorkshireman, that's quite something.
"So it was the perfect send-off really.”
Lallana could make his debut for Brighton against Chelsea on Monday.
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