John Arne Riise has recalled being reduced to tears after denied him a dignified farewell. The Norwegian, known for his lethal left foot, played for the Reds during the 2000s, lifting the trophy in 2005.

But was left devastated by the abrupt way his Anfield career ended in 2008, admitting he was left crying in his car when informed that he had no future at the club. Just two matches short of making 350 appearances, his last game turned out to be the Champions League semi-final loss to .

The former Roma and defender, now 44, told The LineUp: "I was in training and someone came down and told me the boss wanted to speak with me. With only two games left of the season, I thought it might be to discuss a new contract.

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"He sat me down and with absolutely no warning at all, he told me it was best if we went our separate ways at the end of the season. I'm thinking, with 348 games for Liverpool across seven seasons, I deserved a bit of an explanation.

"I knew they were bringing in Andrea Dossena because he had told me, so I had a choice to stay and fight for my place or leave. However, we all know that, when a new player comes in, they can basically be as bad as they like for the first few months, and they're still going to play."

At 27, Riise knew he couldn't afford to be benched for months and made a tough decision. He turned down Benitez's offer of assistance in finding a new club and was denied a chance for a couple of farewell appearances.

Riise, who would join Roma that summer, added: "He asked if I needed help finding a new club but I didn't want his help, so I said no.

Eager to reach 350 appearances for Liverpool, he asked Benitez for a chance to come on as a sub in the season's last two games. Riise said: "He flatly replied 'no, no chance.'

"I told my team-mates who, like me, were pretty confused and then I went and sat by myself in my car and cried. I called my agent, cried to him and he assured me that he'd find me a new club in a few days.

"It felt like I'd been given the sack. I was really disappointed but the one thing I will say is that I had a huge amount of respect that Rafa told me face-to-face. Even though he was brutally honest, he said it directly to me."

The reason behind Benitez's decision remains a mystery to Riise, who maintains a good relationship with the Spaniard despite never discovering why he was shown the door. He said: "I still to this day don't know the reason why he wanted me to leave Liverpool. We have a good relationship and I've seen him plenty of times since but he has never told me why."

After three years in Italy with Roma, Riise returned to the with Fulham in 2011 before spells in Cyprus and India. He retired at the age of 36 before making a brief playing comeback in 2023 with Avaldsnes in his homeland.

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