The pair almost won a Premier League title together at Anfield but their relationship fell apart and they now find themselves as rivals in Glasgow
As it often could, Steven Gerrard’s face said it all.
As the rest of his Liverpool team-mates buzzed around, preparing themselves for an evening in the spotlight, the captain’s demeanour was an altogether different one.
“You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife,” said one visitor to the team’s hotel, a mile or so from the Santiago Bernabeu in the heart of Madrid.
It was matchday, a Champions League night, but Gerrard, for once, was in no mood for the big stage.