Liverpool icon Craig Johnston was moved to tears during an emotional interview as he made a long-awaited return to Anfield for the Reds' 2-2 draw with Fulham. The Australian, who made 271 appearances and scored 40 goals during his seven-year stint with the club, was visibly emotional upon his return.
A five-time league champion with Liverpool, Johnston also netted in the Reds' 3-1 FA Cup final victory over Everton in 1986, clinched the European Cup in 1984 and hoisted two League Cups. However, his career at Anfield came to an abrupt end in 1988 when he retired to care for his seriously ill sister, Faye, who had suffered a brain injury following a gassing accident.
He briefly returned to Liverpool in 1989 following the Hillsborough Disaster, raising £40,000 for the victims' families and flying halfway across the world to attend the memorial service at Anfield. Despite rarely visiting since, Johnston has now returned to Liverpool and was back at Anfield for the Reds' 2-2 draw with Fulham.
The former player couldn't contain his emotions during a heartfelt interview with LFC TV's Peter McDowall before the match.
"Just hearing you speak makes it emotional," he admitted, his voice wavering with emotion. "I kind of left in a bit of a hurry and obviously there is obviously a lot of stuff underneath that I never talked about and never discussed and never been back.
"So unfortunately it is emotional. People might think I'm a bit soft, I'm not soft. I just appreciate living in this city for so long, nine years, and all of the stuff that happened while I was here. It's just magic.
"I can't find the words sometimes to describe it. But it's certainly emotional. But once I get through the emotion, I'm okay. But just hearing your voice and being here, it just makes it very real, you know? " Johnston would later encounter several old teammates at Anfield, but he humorously remarked that their reunion wouldn't stir his emotions, quipping that they still owed him money from their time together.
"I won't be emotional about seeing them, I'll knock them out actually, some of them! " he joked. "Some of them owe me money! "So it's a different thing, the city, the culture, that timeframe where we were the best team in the world by a long, long way.
"That's the stuff that gets me, and the family stuff, you know? But seeing the boys, like I said, I'll knock them out when I see them!"
In addition, Johnston lavished compliments on Arne Slot's squad, forecasting that Liverpool could clinch the Premier League title under the Dutch manager this campaign.
"Dare I say it, dare I say it," he enthused. "It was 30 years before we'd won anything in between and Jurgen Klopp has done such a brilliant job as well.
"And now with Arne on top of it, hallelujah! Let's not forget we won nothing for 30 years. That's interesting."
Reflecting on managerial impacts, he noted, "I look at Alex Ferguson leaving Man United and how that decimated the club for years. We all had those suspicions but that hasn't happened and hasn't been realised at all.
"Just the opposite. We're top of the league and it's Christmas time! So bring it on!"
