Fernando Morientes on the magic of Real Madrid, his Liverpool experience & playing with Steven Gerrard

With 100 goals in 272 appearances for Real Madrid, Fernando Morientes was one of Europe's most prolific centre forwards throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Morientes spoke exclusively with bet365 to discuss his distinguished playing career, including the magic of Real Madrid, his experience at Liverpool and what it was like to play with Steven Gerrard.

The magic of Real Madrid

The Spanish centre forward's performances whilst representing Real Zaragoza caught the eye of Los Blancos, eventually signing for the Spanish giants in in the summer of 1997 for a reported €6.6m.

Morientes said: “It was so exciting. When you are 15 years old you dream of being a professional footballer and I was so fortunate because everything happened so fast.

“It came quickly but I was so enthusiastic and I moved from Albacete to Zaragoza, had two good seasons and signed for Real Madrid.

“It was about raising my game for each club I played for.”

Morientes addressed the pressure that comes with playing for arguably the world's biggest football club, alongside some of Europe's finest talents.

He said: "I was very young when I arrived at Real Madrid and there were players like Predrag Mijatovic, Davor Suker and Raul playing at the club.

“Little by little I gained experience and showed that I could take on the responsibility of playing for Real Madrid. There was a lot of pressure, naturally, but I was very prepared to take that next step."

Los Blancos hadn't won the UEFA Champions League, previously known as the European Cup, in over 30 years upon Morientes' arrival, and the Spaniard spoke about the club's desire to stamp their authority in Europe once again.

Morientes said: “I arrived at a time in which Real Madrid had not won the UEFA Champions League in a long time and it was an obsession for us, Real Madrid being champions of Europe had become an old fashioned thought.

“Real Madrid had won six European Cups and to be a part of the seventh, eighth and ninth was something special."

While Real Madrid has undoubtedly been home to some of the world's greatest players and managers, Morientes spoke on one key factor that makes the club so formidable.

“There is something extraordinary that happens at the Bernabeu. It’s like magic, that ground and that shirt, teams respect you more and the strength of the team and the club is transmitted to the away team.

“I have played as the away team and I can assure you that it’s not easy.”

A loan move to Monaco & playing against Los Blancos

Prior to the start of the 2003/04 term, a new opportunity was presented to Morientes in the form of Ligue 1 outfit Monaco, and he spoke about the harsh reality of his temporary exit.

Morientes said: “My first idea was to fight for my spot at Real Madrid, but I learned during preseason that it was going to be a complicated thing to do.

“I started listening to offers and then Monaco appeared. The truth is that I didn’t like giving up on any team, but I realised I definitely wasn’t going to play at Real Madrid so leaving was the best option.

“At first it was a bit strange to leave Real Madrid but I had great excitement, it was important for me to prove what I had already proved before."

A phenomenal season for both Morientes and Monaco, as the club reached their first and only UEFA Champions League final. The Spanish icon spoke about the success he experienced at the eight-time Ligue 1 winners and highlighted the importance of current France national team manager Didier Deschamps.

“It went very well, I just wanted to enjoy myself but the season went fantastically, we reached the UEFA Champions League final and we were satisfied with the season as a team but I was also satisfied personally.

“At Monaco there were a lot of young players and a lot of hunger in the players with a great coach in Didier Deschamps. He prepared the team for each game and each tie and nothing past that."

In extraordinary fashion, Morientes would meet with his parent club at the quarter-final stage of the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League campaign. Scoring in both the home and away leg, the former Monaco number 10 spoke on what it was like to play against Real Madrid.

"Everything we got felt like a prize and having the quarter-finals against Real Madrid was emotional, I still felt like I belonged to Real Madrid.

“My best friends were all there and it was difficult, but it turned out well. They were in their best shape but we took our excitement and our hunger to knock them out."

Monaco weren't given a chance by many after victory against Real Madrid, with the overarching feeling being that Claudio Ranieri's Chelsea would prove too strong in the semi-finals.

Morientes said: “Once we got to the semi-final against Chelsea many people thought it was the best we could do, but we again got through."

After defeating Chelsea, Morientes was set to play his fourth UEFA Champions League final. While this wasn't new to the striker, he spoke on the growing nerves around the dressing room and how this contributed to a 3-0 defeat to Porto.

Morientes said: “In the final it was about experience, I had three finals behind me and had lived the game before but I felt that there was a certain nervousness around the players because many of them hadn’t had that experience before.

“There was a lot of pressure on players because of that.”

An 'amazing' experience at Liverpool & the influence of Steven Gerrard

After returning from his loan spell at Monaco, Morientes' chances at getting back in the Real Madrid team appeared slim given the club had just signed Michael Owen, and so he made the decision to join Liverpool in January 2005.

Reflecting on his time at the Reds, he said: “My experience at Liverpool was amazing. I really wanted to play in the Premier League and had other options before that. I think every professional player wants the opportunity to play in the Premier League during their career.

“Now there are many foreign players, but then it was direct and very strong and physical, the atmosphere at Anfield was so special."

Despite being unable to perform at his usually high level, Morientes spoke about how special it was to play at Anfield in the Premier League.

“I came from a magical place in the Bernabeu but Anfield was also amazing. It wasn’t my best season, I wasn’t at my very best level, but emotionally it meant a lot because I wanted to play in the Premier League.

“Everyone asks me to compare Liverpool to Real Madrid but it was just an amazing experience emotionally speaking. The only thing I wish is that I could’ve been in my best form, but that is the life of a footballer.”

Having suffered heartache a matter of seasons before in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League final with Monaco, Morientes spoke about the 'Miracle of Istanbul' that occurred in 2005, despite having to watch the game from the stands.

He said: “I had played in the competition for Real Madrid before joining Liverpool in January so I wasn’t able to play. I love the UEFA Champions League and wasn’t able to play.

“I was always supporting the team in the stands and I watched the final with many young players from the squad who not many people would’ve known.

“I was in the stands and didn’t have the intention of joining in the celebrations, the young players tried but the stewards stopped them because they didn’t know who they were even though they were wearing the kits.

“They asked me to help them so I did, I explained they also played for Liverpool and we all got to celebrate. They still thank me now,” Morientes said.

Morientes spoke about the influence of local lads Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, delving into the connection that Gerrard shared with the fans and how that was almost broken with a rumoured move to domestic rivals Chelsea.

He said: “When I arrived at Liverpool, I felt the leadership of Steven Gerrard alongside Jamie Carragher. Gerrard was the team, he was the leader and was worshipped.

“He was a legend to the fans and you could see that it went beyond sport, it was special."

On Gerrard's rumoured move to Chelsea, Morientes said: “There was a time in which Gerrard was linked with signing for Chelsea and there was such disappointment among the fans. It felt like fans weren’t paying attention to games or training sessions, but just to what Steven Gerrard was doing.

“It was very difficult for Gerrard because Liverpool means everything to him personally and his family, the club and the city. He was the player that could win games on his own."

The former Liverpool striker shared how he felt the relationship Gerrard shared with Liverpool fans was comparable to the bond Raul had formed with Real Madrid fans.

He stated: “It felt like we could’ve lost a legend, with his personality and leadership. For me, somewhat introverted and not being able to speak English, I could feel that it was like Raul and Real Madrid.

“The connection between the pitch and the stands, it was the same with Raul as it was with Gerrard.”

Morientes spoke on Mohamed Salah's situation at Liverpool following the announcement that the Egyptian King has extended his contract at the Reds by a further two years.

“Mohamed Salah is tremendous and as a fan of Liverpool I want him to stay there until the end of his career. He contributes so much.

“Having said that, the football world is very open at the moment, we’ve seen Sergio Ramos go to Mexico, there are many possibilities and maybe Salah would like to go somewhere he has less responsibilities.

“But as a fan, I want to see him renew his contract and finish his career at Liverpool.”