Steve McManaman was treated like royalty during a spell at the club of kings and, as he forges a new career as a pundit, Brendan Crossan takes a stroll down memory lane with the former Liverpool and Real Madrid star...
FOR four magical years, Steve McManaman lived and feasted with the football kings of the Santiago Bernabeu. Together, the Brazilian Ronaldo and Raul were an attacking colossus. Zinedine Zidane conjured the sweetest music in midfield.
Luis Figo flirted and dazzled on the flanks.
The unnaturally cool Fernando Hierro was the immense, classy pillar of the team.
Roberto Carlos played with unforgettable pizzazz - darting and flicking down the left wing and firing thunderbolts at the opposition's goal.
In the late '90s/early Noughties, Real Madrid were the Harlem Globetrotters of the football world. McManaman was an integral part of that famous orchestra - the cleverest of football artisans. Arriving on the doorstep of the Galactico era, McManaman played some wonderful football in Madrid. "I'm very fortunate to have played with the players I did," says McManaman, who is working as a football pundit with BT Sport. "When people ask me: 'Who's the best player I played with?'
I instantly plump for Zinedine Zidane. He was brilliant. "The Brazilian Ronaldo and Raul scored goals all the time. They will always get the plaudits for their goals but if you go through that team there was no greater left back than Roberto Carlos. "His attitude and physical ability was incredible and I thought Fernando Hierro was arguably one the greatest-ever centre halves. "The likes of Figo and Zidane were class - but Zidane was the one that I'd put above everybody else. He could do incredible things with the ball. But, most of all, they were all gentlemen off the pitch, really good people."
Many would regard McManaman's four-year stay in La Liga as the best of his career.
It's true, the telepathy McManaman and Roberto Carlos displayed down Madrid's left flank flummoxed almost every team they played.
His scissor-kick finish in the 2000 Champions League final that buried Valencia in the Stade de France was the stuff of dreams, and was symptomatic of his great form in Real's famous white jersey.
Some would argue McManaman played better stuff before he bid farewell to Anfield in '99. "I think in 1997/'98 I was more influential at Liverpool but we didn't win the league. "People just remember when you win or lose. It's as simple as that. We got tagged as the Liverpool team that just didn't get there because we came up against a very strong Manchester United team.
"I think it was unfair to label a lot of that Liverpool team [under-achievers] because they were excellent players. "There might have been times when I was playing better football at Liverpool but of course you don't win the games, so everybody forgets. "At Madrid we were the best of the best - and you can't beat that."
He adds: "But I was very lucky when I made my Liverpool debut because I played with a lot of the players who used to win the league all the time: Ronnie Whelan, Steve Nicol, Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson. They were all tremendous footballers. "John Barnes was absolutely incredible. Gazza with England was so talented and then going forward Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler's goalscoring records were unbelievable for Liverpool."
An FA Cup and League Cup was all the former England international had to show for his sterling efforts at Liverpool before winning two Champions League titles with Madrid and a pair of La Liga crowns. McManaman returned to England and played out his last days with Manchester City, accruing a career total of 560 games and 80 goals. Since retiring from football, McManaman is making a living out of speaking sense in the new studios of BT Sport.
So what makes a good pundit? "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," he says. "Some people think you're good, some people think you're awful.
As far as I'm concerned, when I'm listening to somebody I want them to tell me something that I haven't noticed. "I just want a pundit to be interesting and lively and to look as if he's enjoying himself because I know I don't want him to talk the same old nonsense. I want to enjoy watching and listening to him." Although still in its infancy, BT Sport has made a considerable splash on the big stage.
It has already fired shots across the bows of Sky by netting an exclusive £897m three-year deal to screen the Champions League in 2015.
As well as showing 'live' English Premier League games this season, the sports channel's coverage of Italian, French, German and international football is hugely impressive and has a wide range of pundits to present the games. McManaman is enjoying his new role. He delivers his analysis with the same devil-may-care swagger that made him one of the best English players in the modern era.