Former Liverpool midfielder James Milner has opened up on the demands of playing under Jurgen Klopp and revealed just how tough preseason tours could be during his time at Anfield
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp attends a FIFA World Cup match
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp(Image: Photo by Maja Hitij - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Former Liverpool midfielder James Milner has opened up on his experience playing under Jurgen Klopp and how brutal preseason tours could be under the German.
The Reds were managed by Klopp for nine years between 2015 and 2024 and enjoyed plenty of success during that time, including winning a Premier League title and the Champions League. Milner, meanwhile, arrived at Anfield the same year as the former manager but departed a year earlier in 2023 as a free agent.
After leaving the Reds, Milner spent three years at Premier League side Brighton, where he made just shy of 50 appearances across all competitions. The 40-year-old announced his retirement from playing at the end of last season and is now believed to be starting his coaching career in Liverpool's academy.
Klopp, on the other hand, took a brief sabbatical after leaving in 2024 before he joined Red Bull as its Head of Global Soccer at the start of 2025. Now, following developments over the summer, he will return to the dugout later this month as head coach of the German national team.
Recently, Milner has opened up on his experiences playing under Klopp, most notably how brutal their preseason sessions could be. In particular, when they toured Asia, they would be put on a special timezone to minimize the impact of jet lag.
"We wouldn’t be on their time, we wouldn’t be on English time, we’d be somewhere in the middle so the jet lag wasn’t as bad," the former midfielder explained on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast. "So the tour time turned out that we were up straight away for a running session before breakfast.
"Which, tour time, made it 12:30, 1 o’clock in the afternoon - the hottest part of the day. So we’re doing this run around this track. Hottest part of the day. It’s like a thousand degrees. We got on the bus and he wasn’t letting us have the air conditioning on.
Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp celebrates with James Milner after winning a Premier League match
James Milner has opened up on his experience playing under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool(Image: Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images)
"So we had to go for about half an hour, stuck in traffic, with everyone melting and no air conditioning. I don’t know if it was because he thought we were going to get cold or something else.
"The great thing about Jurgen is probably that what you see is what you get. Some people are very different behind the camera, in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
"I think with him, what you see is what you get. Plenty of energy, demanded high standards in everything you do."
Liverpool, meanwhile, continues its campaign under Andoni Iraola on Tuesday evening with a Carabao Cup clash with Tottenham. Then, it's away to Bournemouth in the Premier League this weekend as the Reds look to turn recent draws into wins.