79 Facts About James Milner

James Philip Milner was born on 4 January 1986 and is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool.

James Milner represented Horsforth School in these sports and played football for amateur teams from Rawdon and Horsforth.

James Milner supported Leeds United from childhood, joining the Leeds Youth Academy in 1996.

James Milner made his debut for the first team in 2002 aged 16 and gained prominence as the youngest player to score in the Premier League, and later spent time on loan at Swindon Town to gain further first-team experience.

James Milner went on to make over 100 appearances for Newcastle United, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2006, and spent a year on loan at Aston Villa, before signing for Aston Villa permanently in 2008.

In 2015, James Milner signed for Liverpool on a free transfer, and was appointed vice-captain.

James Milner went on to win the UEFA Champions League in 2019, as well as his third Premier League title, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup, and another FA Cup and EFL Cup title.

James Milner made a record 46 appearances for the England national under-21 football team, playing at the 2007 and 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships, finishing as runner-up in the latter.

James Milner won 61 caps for the full national team, scoring st Moldova.

James Milner was selected for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup squads, as well as the 2012 and 2016 UEFA European Championships.

James Milner played most of his childhood football for Westbrook Lane Primary School in Horsforth, where one of his PE teachers and coaches was future Premier League referee Jon Moss, who would give him a red card two decades later.

James Milner was described as a "first class" student at his school; he left with 11 GCSEs and an award for his performance in physical education.

James Milner then completed his studies at Boston Spa School, a sports college which was a partner to the football club.

James Milner supported his hometown club Leeds United from a young age.

When James Milner was 10 years old, he joined the Leeds United Academy after being spotted by a scout while playing for Westbrook Juniors in Horsforth.

At the academy, James Milner played against contemporaries from other clubs in Northern England, including future Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

James Milner's role model was Leeds-born Alan Smith, who was then a Leeds United striker.

James Milner believed playing with Smith put him through a learning curve, as Smith had done what James Milner aspired to do in coming through the academy and playing for the first team.

James Milner continued to excel in the youth team, and played for England at under-15 and under-17 levels.

James Milner helped the England under-17 team win the 2002 Nationwide summer tournament against Italy, Czech Republic and Brazil, scoring a goal against Brazil.

James Milner's record was broken by James Vaughan of Everton in 2005.

Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri remarked after the match that James Milner had performed like a much more experienced player.

James Milner spent a month with Swindon, playing in six matches and scoring two goals against Peterborough United and Luton Town.

James Milner said he believed that this experience made him emotionally stronger and taught him how to deal with team problems.

Ultimately, Villa and Everton did not make offers and James Milner rejected an offer from Tottenham as they were based too far from his family home, where he still lived.

James Milner said that he was frustrated at not being used as a starter for most of the season.

James Milner made his Villa debut on 12 September 2005 in a Premier League match against West Ham United.

James Milner remained confident that Villa would recover from a poor start to the season and praised the quality of the squad.

James Milner was generally seen as a positive signing in a season that was disappointing for Villa.

James Milner himself received the loan move positively, saying that he would like to join Villa permanently because of the probability of becoming a regular starter, but said that the possibility of this happening was beyond his control.

Manager David O'Leary confirmed during the season that he would like James Milner to join the club permanently, but doubted he would be given the opportunity to sign him.

James Milner even pulled out of signing Robert Huth so that he would have the funds to sign Milner permanently if the opportunity arose.

This, as well as the departure of O'Leary and the shortage of transfer funds at Villa, meant that a deal to sign James Milner permanently seemed unlikely.

James Milner was a starter in the Newcastle team for the entire season.

James Milner scored two more goals during the next three weeks, against Birmingham City and then against West Ham United.

James Milner signed another four-year contract in May 2007, when Sam Allardyce took over as manager of Newcastle.

James Milner said later in the year that he was happy about his future at the club and its new manager, saying that the training sessions were "the best since I have been here".

Allardyce said during the season that James Milner was so keen to play, that he was concerned he would "burn out mentally [and] physically".

Allardyce praised James Milner during the season, saying he was "a hugely experienced Premier League player".

James Milner made his debut for Villa on 31 August 2008 as a second-half substitute against Liverpool.

On 7 February 2009, James Milner was named to the England senior team squad for the first time, after a run at club level that had impressed England manager Fabio Capello.

James Milner stated that his time at Villa is the "most settled" period of his career so far, having played for thirteen managers and caretakers despite being only 23.

James Milner ended the season with 12 goals and was named Aston Villa's Fan's Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year.

On 22 July 2010, Villa manager Martin O'Neill said that James Milner had shown a desire to leave Villa for City, but would only be sold at Villa's valuation.

James Milner was given a standing ovation when he was substituted near the end of the match.

James Milner scored his first Premier League goal for Manchester City against Everton on 24 September 2011.

James Milner won his first Community Shield in August 2012, as City beat Chelsea at Villa Park.

On 4 June 2015, James Milner agreed to join Liverpool on a free transfer from Manchester City.

On 7 August 2015, James Milner was announced as the vice-captain.

James Milner appeared in the 2016 UEFA Europa League final at the end of his first season with the club.

James Milner ended his first season with Liverpool scoring seven goals and recording 15 assists in all competitions.

On 14 August 2019, James Milner won his first UEFA Super Cup, starting the 2019 match against Chelsea, as Liverpool won after a penalty shoot-out in Istanbul.

In December 2019, James Milner signed a new contract reportedly keeping him at the club until 2022, although Liverpool did not specify the contract length.

On 25 June 2020, James Milner won his third Premier League title and his first for Liverpool.

James Milner still remained an important player as Liverpool overcame multiple difficulties to finish third, qualifying for the following season's Champions League on the final day of the season.

On 27 February 2022, James Milner scored Liverpool's first penalty of the shoot-out in the 2022 EFL Cup final victory over Chelsea.

On 14 May 2022, James Milner scored Liverpool's first penalty of the shoot-out in the 2022 FA Cup final victory over Chelsea.

On 6 June 2022, James Milner signed a one-year extension with the club.

In June, James Milner competed for England at the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

James Milner played in all four of England's matches and was booked in the semi-final against the Netherlands, which meant he would have missed the final.

Historically, players with several England Under-21 appearances have not progressed to become regulars in the senior team, which has led some to doubt whether James Milner would be able to successfully make the transition.

James Milner continued to be a regular and was the only player, along with Joe Hart and captain Steven Taylor, to have played in all the qualifiers for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

James Milner helped set up the winning goal for Micah Richards against Finland, and manager Stuart Pearce said after the match, "The modern-day full-back can get up and down the pitch and I knew [Milner] would be comfortable".

James Milner was the only England player to miss in the shoot-out after he slipped just before kicking the ball, causing it to go over the crossbar.

James Milner played again for England the following month against Slovenia in another friendly and made his competitive debut four days later in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Croatia, where he played the final nine minutes.

James Milner was named in the squad for the World Cup finals in South Africa and was selected in the starting lineup for England's first match of the tournament against the United States, although he was substituted after 30 minutes.

James Milner played in six matches during qualifying for UEFA Euro 2012, and was named in Roy Hodgson's 23-man squad for the tournament.

James Milner started all of England's group stage games as the Three Lions finished top of group D and qualified for the quarter-finals.

James Milner started but was taken off after an hour as England were eliminated by Italy in a penalty shoot-out.

James Milner was included in Hodgson's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

James Milner was part of the England squad for EURO 2016, but was unable to secure regular playing time.

James Milner played just five minutes in the group stage, coming on as a late substitute against Russia, and did not play in England's loss to Iceland in the round of 16.

On 5 August 2016, James Milner announced his retirement from international duty following discussions with new England manager Sam Allardyce.

Nolberto Solano, a former teammate, said that because of his ability, James Milner would "become an important team player".

James Milner has been described as "comfortable on either wing".

James Milner has been used occasionally as a central midfielder, a striker and as an emergency right-back, generally during an injury crisis.

James Milner has the ability to pass accurately and shoot from a great distance from goal.

James Milner learnt to speak Spanish to better communicate with his teammates, and speaks to his children only in Spanish to ensure they too learn the language.

James Milner was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to association football and charity.