Ex-Liverpool star reveals massive bonuses players received for UCL win

The 2005 Champions League final is both one of the happiest and worst memories of Stephen Warnock's Liverpool career.

A combination of incompetence and confusion meant the academy graduate played no role in the famous comeback victory over AC Milan in Istanbul all those years ago. Missing out on such a famous victory alone is reason enough for heartbreak, but Warnock has lifted the lid on another aspect of the result that left a sour taste in his mouth.

That's after the twice-capped former England international revealed just how much Rafa Benitez's squad stood to make for winning and losing in the Turkish capital. And it wasn't anything to be sniffed at, win or lose.

Warnock, 42, was led to believe he'd be featuring against the Rossoneri in some capacity and would therefore get a sniff of the bonus earnings. However, he opened up about how a miscommunication from boss Benitez saw him sidelined altogether and shattered his relationship with the Spaniard.

Appearing on the Undr the Cosh podcast, Warnock said: "I remember thinking at the time - it shouldn't come into it, but it did - it was one of the biggest games of football's year, but our bonus was massive either way.

"It was £100,000 to lose it and £200,000 to win it. And I was thinking, 'F***ing hell, that's a massive amount of money.' Because I wasn't on much money at the time. [That's for] whoever's in the [matchday] 18, it doesn't go pro rata across the squad. Literally, if you're in the 18, you get it."

Warnock made his senior debut in 2002 but spent the first two seasons of his career on loan with Bradford City and Coventry, timing his break into Liverpool's senior setup to perfection. However, he still wasn't braced for the vast sums on offer for a Champions League