Craig Johnston
Craig Johnston returned to Anfield over the weekend
Liverpool icon Craig Johnston was left speechless after making an ‘emotional’ return to his former club.
The former midfielder made over 270 appearances during a successful seven-year career with the Reds. In that time, he won five league titles, the European Cup, the FA Cup and two League Cups.
He effectively ended his career in 1988 to look after his seriously ill sister, Faye, who had suffered a brain injury following a gassing accident. Johnston then raised a stunning £40,000 for victims of the Hillsborough tragedy.
And his time on Merseyside clearly left a mark on him after his tear-ridden interview upon his return to Anfield. Speaking to LFC TV, he said: “Just hearing you speak makes it emotional. I kind of left in a bit of a hurry and obviously there is obviously a lot of stuff underneath that I never talked about and never discussed and never been back.
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“So unfortunately it is emotional. People might think I’m a bit soft, I’m not soft. I just appreciate living in this city for so long, nine years, and all of the stuff that happened while I was here. It’s just magic.
“I can’t find the words sometimes to describe it. But it’s certainly emotional. But once I get through the emotion, I’m okay. But just hearing your voice and being here, it just makes it very real, you know?”
And while Johnston still harbours plenty of affection for his former side, it appears he wasn’t too keen on bumping into any of his former teammates at Anfield. The Reds icon joked he might be forced to give them a bruising reminder of some former debts from their playing time.
He added: “I won’t be emotional about seeing them, I’ll knock them out actually, some of them! Some of them owe me money! So it’s a different thing, the city, the culture, that timeframe where we were the best team in the world by a long, long way.
Craig Johnston (far right) celebrates winning the FA Cup with Liverpool
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“That’s the stuff that gets me, and the family stuff, you know? But seeing the boys, like I said, I’ll knock them out when I see them!”
Johnson was treated to a thrilling game upon his return to Anfield. The Reds twice rallied from behind after being reduced to ten men through Andrew Robertson’s dismissal.
Diogo Jota scored late on to ensure a share of the points for Arne Slot’s side. It leaves them sitting top of the Premier League with a five-point advantage over Chelsea ahead of the Blues’ clash with Brentford on Sunday evening.
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