'I was close to leaving Liverpool... then won the Champions League'

The defender had been on the brink of leaving Liverpool to join neighbours Everton the previous summer, with a deal agreed between the clubs.

But then-Reds manager Rafael Benitez persuaded Traore to reject the move in favour of staying, promising to give the Frenchman regular game time.

Which meant Traore was present when a challenging 2004-05 season for Benitez and his team ended in the most glorious fashion in Istanbul.

Liverpool, of course, battled from a 3-0 half-time deficit in the European Cup final against AC Milan to level the match at 3-3 and then win on penalties.

And recalling that period on the latest episode of LFCTV’s Extra Time, Traore reveals the chain of events that ensured he was part of the victory celebrations.

“I was very close to signing for Everton,” he says. “Liverpool accepted a bid and I was going to the training ground to pack my stuff.

“Rafa convinced me to come into the office and we spent one hour discussing it. Even after one hour I said, ‘No, I don’t want to stay, the club accepted a transfer.’

“He said to me, ‘If you come back to me in January and I don’t play you, I’ll let you go, whatever you want.’ I said, ‘OK, deal.’ And he played me.

“And then when we won the Champions League final, on the pitch that was the first thing he said to me. He found me, first he slapped me on the cheek – because he liked to slap people on the cheek – and he said, ‘You see, if you went to Everton, you wouldn’t have won the Champions League!’

“I said, ‘Thank you.’”

Milan were sumptuous in the first half that night, with a Paolo Maldini strike and two Hernan Crespo finishes leaving Liverpool’s dreams of a fifth European Cup in tatters.

Part of Benitez’s response during the break had been to withdraw Traore as part of a reshuffle of personnel and tactics.

But an injury to Steve Finnan meant a reprieve for Traore, who went on to play his part in the scarcely believable comeback – including one vital goalline clearance.

He adds: “Maybe it was destiny. I was poor in the first half and I tried to help the team and contribute. Maybe I helped the team to win that night with that save on the line.

“The spirit of the team was very high. That group had been in difficult situations, sometimes during the game and some games, and the experience we had together [helped].

“Because we were a very strong group together and we had been playing together for many years, some of the players on the squad. I think that helped us to come back and overcome that game. But Steven Gerrard makes the difference of course.”