4 hours ago
5
James Milner said it was a "special moment" to return to Anfield and play for Brighton while wearing 20 on the back of his jersey.
Milner wore the No. 6 during his first two seasons with the South Coast club, but switched to No. 20 during the summer following the tragic passing of Liverpool player Diogo Jota, who wore 20 for Liverpool.
The 39-year-old came on as a late substitute during Brighton's 2-0 loss to Liverpool on Saturday, and took to social media after the game, writing: "Disappointing result but happy to be back out on the pitch and a special moment to play at Anfield wearing the 20. A massive thank you for the incredible welcome from the Anfield crowd. YNWA."
Milner received a standing ovation as he entered the Anfield pitch wearing Jota's old number in the final few minutes of the game.
Speaking ahead of the start of the 2025-26 season, Milner explained his decision to switch squad numbers, telling Brighton media in August: "Once I heard Carlos [Baleba] was looking to change his number and 20 was available, I wanted to do it as a mark of respect and to obviously pay tribute to Diogo Jota.
"He was an amazing player, who I was fortunate to play with, and he was a great friend as well. It will be a great honour to wear his number in the Premier League this year."
Speaking about Jota after his death in July, Milner said: "Every week I love watching the guy as a player and I loved training with him but, more importantly than as a player, as a guy he was incredible. He was someone you could put in any corner of the dressing room and people loved him.
"Me and him had so many fun days together winding each other up. He's such a stubborn guy like myself. We had so much fun together.
"He was such an amazing family man and just someone you wanted to be around. He'll be missed by everyone. He was a truly amazing player and even better guy - an unbelievable guy to be around. He'll be missed by everyone who knew him and everyone in the footballing world for sure."
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate swapped jerseys with Milner at the end of Saturday's game, with the Frenchman taking to Instagram to share a picture of the Brighton veteran's jersey.
Milner's appearance at Anfield was his 646th in the Premier League, and he is now just seven appearances away from Gareth Barry's all-time record of 653.
English (US) ·