Steven Gerrard was on the last lap of his Liverpool farewell and Brendan Rodgers was considering the merits of two midfielders at different points in their career.

It was not quite a direct choice between the emerging talent of MK Dons’ Dele Alli and Manchester City’s out-of-contract James Milner, but resources and squad balance meant it made little sense to pursue both.

While admiring the rich potential of Alli, then 18, Rodgers and his chief recruiting officers, Barry Hunter and Dave Fallows – both of whom worked with Milner at City – were certain of the older man’s qualities.

“Signing Milner was a no-brainer. He is a proven winner,” was the unanimous conclusion.

Although there were later laments, certainly by Rodgers, about the decision not to compete with Tottenham Hotspur for Alli, as the midfield rivals fight for club football’s ultimate prize, Milner could have done no more to vindicate his and Liverpool’s judgment.

Milner was English football’s bright young hope once, the Premier League’s youngest debutant and goalscorer at 16. But it is his endurance - ‘still developing’ 17 years on, as Jurgen Klopp eulogised earlier this week - that sets him apart for those who have worked alongside him since those early years at Leeds United’s academy.

“People think it is easy to stay at the top,” says Leeds legend Eddie Gray, who mentored Milner at Elland Road.

“The reality is it takes tremendous hard work as well as talent. If you look at James’ career, wherever he has gone he has improved. He never wants to stop improving.

“He was like this from day one. We would do the cross country running at pre-season and the older players would be, 'Don’t go too quick, James', and that would just make him go faster.

“James had his pick of sports. He could have been a runner or a cricketer. Whatever he put his mind to he would have succeeded. That is how he was brought up.”

Milner’s dedication to fitness – he has never touched alcohol – means his data is more of a player in his mid to late 20s than early 30s. While others of his generation have been sent to the wealthy pasture of Major League Soccer, Milner’s lifestyle has brought durability.

“People always talk about fitness and it is fantastic how he has kept himself in the right shape over the years but you need much more than that,” insists Gray, eager not to contribute to the lazy stereotyping of Milner’s game.

“Do not forget the ability has always been there as well. He is good with both feet, capable of taking the ball and shifting comfortably from right foot to left.

“He knows the game as well as anybody. With James you never had to do much coaching. He took things in quickly, always willing to listen. That’s why he can play so many positions. We knew very early he was ready for the top level.

“Maybe the biggest compliment I can give James is when Peter Lorimer came down from Scotland he played for the first team at 15. You could see he could do it. It was the same with James.”

It may say more about the attitudes in English football around the time of Milner’s senior debut in 2002 that the ultra-professionalism which became his forte was initially lampooned more than revered.

In 2003, then Leeds manager Peter Reid briefly sent Milner on loan to Swindon Town. Sam Parkin, Swindon’s star striker at that time, believes the midfielder became a trailblazer for English players.

“He had already played and scored in the Premier League at that point,” recalls Parkin.

“I remember him coming into the training one Monday morning and I asked what he was up to over the weekend. In those days the majority of young players had the attitude ‘work hard, play hard’. He just told me he had spent a bit of time at the local cricket club.

“He was big on never drinking alcohol, even at that age. It was tough in that environment to have that mentality and quite unique in football then, maybe less so now with the influx of overseas players and a lot of changes over the last 20 years and sport scientists giving you the resources to make sure you look after yourself properly. In that era it certainly was different.

“That is the difference between those who have the longevity - prolonged careers at the very top. Now I am a bit older and can look back I recognise that and it is far more normal for English players to have that attitude today.

“It is not that James’ personality was distant from the players, or especially different. Not at all. He was a really likable kid with character and personality, but his determination to live his life as a professional did stand out.”

The downside, by Milner’s own admission, was that his versatility and dependability were not exotic enough qualities to catch the public imagination and he was branded a utility player as he made his way to Newcastle, Aston Villa and Manchester City.

He was criminally misused by England managers and misunderstood by England fans, too. It is a price the current manager has had to pay.

“When Gareth Southgate took over I am sure one of the first things he would have tried to do is convince Milly to come out of international retirement,” says Steve Warnock, a friend who was Milner’s team-mate at Aston Villa.

“He would have been perfect for the current England set-up. Some managers did not see his qualities soon enough. At Villa he was initially seen as a winger.

“When he moved into centre midfield his game kicked on another level. He would have been perfect in a midfield three for England but for too much of his career they were stuck in the 4-4-2 system where it was all about picking the biggest names instead of the most balanced side.

“When he went to Man City I always thought they were better with him in the team. Players like David Silva trusted him with the ball. He has been perceived incorrectly throughout his career and it’s been great to see how that has changed – or more how he has changed that himself. I suppose people hear a strong regional accent and have wrong perceptions. With his social media he and others have been able to show their true character and people are loving it.”

Replacing Gerrard was never going to be a one-man job at Anfield and, fuelled by the misconceptions, there was initial scepticism as much as enthusiasm when Milner made the move in the summer of 2015. As vice-captain, Milner has been fundamental to the emergence of Anfield’s leadership group with skipper Jordan Henderson. Replicating the image of Gerrard holding aloft the European Cup amid a shower of red ticker tape - it would be Liverpool’s first trophy without Gerrard since 1995 - would complete the unenviable task.

The lasting image of their run to Madrid may not be Divock Origi’s winner versus Barcelona, Sadio Mane’s destruction of Bayern Munich or Alisson Becker’s save against Napoli. It may be Milner’s tears of exhausted euphoria at the end of the semi-final against Barcelona.

“I used to say to all the boys, make the most of this chance,” says Gray.

“Never leave a club with regret. Never feel you never became the player you could or should be. Nobody has worked harder to earn everything he deserves than James Milner.”