John Arne Riise has revealed that he regrets leaving Liverpool.
The 34-year old left-back, now in Cyprus with APOEL Nicosia, departed Anfield to join Italian club Roma back in 2008 after seven years with the Reds.
In an exclusive interview with the Liverpool Echo, Riise said that he did not really want to exit Merseyside but felt that his hands were tied as the club were set to purchase Andrea Dossena from Udinese.
"Looking back, I should have stayed," he said.
"You never want to leave a club like Liverpool. It's the best club in the world but at that time I felt like I had no choice.
"Liverpool were paying a lot of money to sign Dossena and I knew he would be given three or four months to establish himself.
"At that stage of my career I didn't want to spend that time on the bench. I needed to play.
"With hindsight, I should have stayed and fought for my place but it's easy to look back and say that.
"I went on to have some great times at Roma and Fulham, and now I'm enjoying myself in Cyprus."
