James Milner names ex-Liverpool teammate as most underrated star he's played with

James Milner has played for a wide variety of players throughout his career, which included successful spells with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle

James Milner is now at Brighton(Image: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Former Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder James Milner has named the most underrated player that he has played alongside during a long career at the top of the game.

Recently breaking the Premier League's appearance record, overtaking Gareth Barry, Milner has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world and won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2019. He was a key man for several seasons under Jurgen Klopp before moving to Brighton.

"I think Jordan Henderson would be one," Milner told Sport Bible. "I'd say Joel Matip. Joel Matip was absolutely incredible as a player, as a lad, so good for us.

"And obviously, he had an amazing player next to him in Virgil van Dijk. Virgil got a lot of credit as well, but Joel Matip was so good. And with the ball, without the ball, highly underrated for me."

Matip joined Liverpool on a free transfer from the Bundesliga side Schalke in 2016. He won every available trophy with the Reds, including the Premier League and Champions League.

Signed by Klopp, he made a total of 201 appearances and scored 11 times. Matip retired from football at the age of 33 in 2024 and he has maintained a low profile since.

Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre(Image: 2023 Liverpool FC)

Milner also spoke about the ups and downs of his career. One notable high was breaking the record for the most assists in a single Champions League season back in the 2017/18 campaign, when he starred for Liverpool.

"There are some pretty decent players who have played in the Champions League, so to have that is pretty special," Milner reflected.

In terms of the worst moment, he recalled a game for England at the 2010 World Cup in the United States.

"The worst memory probably was my first ever World Cup match," Milner explained. "I'd been ill for three or four days before the first game, lost a load of weight, not been able to eat dinner with the boys.

"I had to be kept apart, and I started the first game against the USA. It didn't go well, I got booked, I think I got pulled off after 20-25 minutes, and thought, if that's the only World Cup game I ever play, that's not ideal.

"But yeah, that wasn't great. I didn't play the second game, and fortunately in the third game, I managed to get the assist to get us through the group. It had a happy ending in the end, but it wasn't the best start to a World Cup."

Liverpool.com says: Matip is a great selection. After he got over his injury troubles, he was exceptional alongside Van Dijk. The Cameroonian was, by all accounts, a great addition to the Liverpool roster behind the scenes too.