James Milner says his favourite ever moment at Leeds United was when he scored his first goal for the club, in front of his family after coming through the academy, and being a season ticket holder.
The 37-year-old played 53 times for the first team at Leeds before relegation in 2004, in which Milner left us to join Newcastle for a fee of just £5m. He has gone on to have an incredible career in football.
Now just 23 Premier League appearances shy of the all-time record for top-flight matches – behind Gareth Barry’s 652 – Milner reflected on his career in an interview with the High Performance Podcast.
Milner was asked for the favourite moment of his career. A player with three Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy. But he picked his first goal in a Leeds shirt, given he and his family are fans.
“It’s hard to pick one and I feel fortunate I have more I could say but you can go back to my first goal as a Leeds fan and coming through and scoring at 16 years old, family was there, season ticket holders.
“That was so special. But winning a trophy, those games where you win and you are on a parade, after. Those were probably the highlights,” Milner said, on the last episode of the High Performance Podcast.
James Milner says Leeds United moment favourite of his career
That first goal came on Boxing Day, a 2-1 away win over Sunderland in 2002. With Sunderland winning 1-0, Milner got on the end of a Jason Wilcox cross – becoming the top tier’s youngest-ever goalscorer.
It saw him break Wayne Rooney’s record, with the ex-England captain scoring against Arsenal a couple of months beforehand. He went on to score five goals in his 53 games for Leeds, before leaving us.
There have been links, a potential return for Milner to Elland Road. But in the summer, he joined Brighton on a free after leaving Liverpool – where he won the Premier League and Champions League trophy.
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