Former Liverpool winger Albert Riera admits he's apologised to Rafa Benitez for being "selfish".

Now a manager himself, having taken charge of Olimpija Ljubljana in the summer after previously serving as an assistant coach at Galatasaray, the Spaniard, so outspoken at the time when blasting Benitez prior to heading out the Anfield exit door, has seen the error of his ways.

“Now that I am a coach, I see it differently," Riera admitted when recalling the falling out with the Liverpool Echo. “Many times I have apologised to him (Benitez), to many coaches that I had during my career.

“As a player, you just see yourself, you see that you want to play, you just see your part. But it's so difficult to keep 25 players happy, it's impossible. You have to make decisions as a coach, someone will like it and someone won't like it. It's like this, as simple as that.

“Now I know how selfish I was as a player. Ask all the players, they should be. You need this passion and you want to play all the time. But I like the players who are clever and intelligent, who understand the decision I am taking is for the best of the group.

“Football is about the group and team, not only the individual. I learned a lot, I learned a lot from my mistake that I did."