Liverpool star James Milner has recalled an amusing Gareth Bale story at a rather painful time for the Reds man.
Jurgen Klopp's men faced Bale's Real Madrid in the Champions League final in 2018, eventually losing the game 3-1.
The match was dominated by two things - Reds keeper Loris Karius' horrendous second-half mistake which resulted in Madrid's opening goal - and Bale's stunning acrobatic finish that was admired around the world. The former Tottenham man then put the icing on the cake with the third.
It was an epic footballing moment from the Welshman, but for Liverpool supporters and Milner himself it is a painful memory.
He revealed he attempted to get over the game by going on holiday - but that only made matters worse for him.
Looking back at Bale’s heroics in the Kiev final with BT Sport , Milner was asked, tongue in cheek, "hate this guy?" when the presenter handed him a shirt worn by the Wales star. He responded: “I don’t hate him! [But] there are some bad memories there, obviously.
“The worst part about it was I went away to Spain just after this to get away from it.
“And whose buggy is parked in front of mine on the tee? [Bale’s].
“I couldn’t even get away from him a week later! But the goal was incredible.
“To score that in any game is top [class] but to change a Champions League final like he did… Sometimes you’ve got to have respect.”
Liverpool put the nightmare of 2018 behind them in May of this year, beating Tottenham 2-0 in the final in Madrid.
"It was made more special by what happened the year before, obviously,” Milner added.
“Getting 97 points in the Premier League and not getting over the line, the pressure was on us.
“To have to do it two weeks later against another English team was always going to be tough, we know how good they are.
“On its own it’s special but to share it with the boys and what a great relationship we have in that dressing room, all the lads together and the team spirit. Yeah, it was just an amazing time for everyone.”
