“The year has ended with my injury over the last couple of months, but that has been just a blip in a great year.

“I have never played against Atletico – it would have been a great opportunity to play against them so soon after leaving.

“When I left Atletico one of the things that I wanted to happen was that one day I would face my old team in the Champions League, go to the Calderon and acknowledge those fans again and receive them here in England.

“In the end all of those things happened, except I was not able to play, which was a great shame.

“I would have liked to have played in Madrid and at Anfield and to have experienced the game from the inside.

“I suppose you could say that, along with the injury, that was the other negative of the year but maybe we will face them again later in the competition.”