AS Roma defender John Arne Riise admitted he had to leave Liverpool in order to resurrect his staling football career.

The Norwegian, who arrived in Merseyside in 2001, spent seven largely successful seasons at Anfield but found himself further down the pecking order in his last two seasons following a steady dip in form.

Despite his anti-climax ending with Liverpool after his last minute headed own-goal against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final first leg which all but cost the Reds a place in the final, Riise was a key cog during the club's 2005 Champions League triumph along with the 2006 FA Cup triumph and their 2001 treble-winning season.

The former Monaco left back is proud of his Anfield accomplishments but added he is now fully focused on his new Giallorossi adventure.

"I spent seven beautiful years at Liverpool, but now I'm a Roma player and I'm convinced that this choice was the best one I could make," explained the Norwegian full-back to Sky Sports.

"Everything happened all of a sudden. One day I was at Liverpool and the next day I was ready to leave. I always gave my best for that shirt, but one must understand when it is best to change.

"If I had stayed in England, I wouldn't have been a first team player in this season and I therefore preferred to play my cards in this new Italian adventure."

espnstar.com