In Liverpool and Real Madrid, Steve McManaman sees a lot of likeness in terms of history, principles and pressure to succeed in Liverpool and Real Madrid.
McManaman has had the privilege to play for the two clubs. For this reason, he knows what is expected of a player from the two clubs.
McManaman came through the ranks at Anfield and played for nine years with the first team. He, later on, swapped Liverpool for the Santiago Bernabeu and Real Madrid.
After going through the pressure that was on the club to succeed and the cost of failure, the time at Liverpool saw him lift the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Later on, McManaman spent four successful years with Los Blancos. Here, he won the Champions League, the Copa Del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup twice.
However, even at that, at times was not enough at Madrid.
“Real Madrid is very much like Liverpool. As in two huge clubs in their particular countries, steeped in history, always looking at the past.”
“You have got these pictures all over the walls in Liverpool. It will me Emlyn Hughes, it will be Graeme Souness, Phil Thompson lifting these European Cups.”
“In Madrid, it was the same. You have got Alfredo Di Stefano, Francisco Gento, Ferenc Puskas, you’ve got pictures everywhere and the pressure is on every single season to win a trophy.”
“If it’s not the league, it’s the Champions League. You have to deliver silverware. That was exactly the same at Liverpool.
“I went to Madrid. The faces were different and they spoke a foreign language. But the pressure to win trophies was all that mattered.”