A Liverpool footballer who was overlooked for the Champions League final then had to watch the victory parade on Sky Sports. The 2005 victory over Milan will forever be remembered by Liverpool supporters, but it's a bitter memory for one player: Stephen Warnock.

Warnock had been a regular part of Rafael Benítez's squad during that season, having made 19 appearances in the Premier League and four in the European tournament. He didn't miss a single squad line-up on the path to Istanbul, so he naturally assumed that he would again be a part of the action, either from the bench or in the starting XI.

When Benitez announced the 18-man Liverpool squad for the lead-up to the match, Warnock was overjoyed to see his name included. But the joy soon turned to disappointment and anger, with Warnock describing the subsequent events as "an absolute disgrace".

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Pako Ayestaran, the assistant manager, later informed him that including him in the squad had been a mistake and he wouldn't actually be involved. This news came after Warnock had already told family to book flights out to Istanbul.

Watching from the stands as his colleagues pulled off an impressive comeback from a 3-0 deficit to win on penalties, Warnock experienced a whirlwind of emotions. He recalled his experience on the Undr The Cosh podcast.

"It was hard for me because I'm a Liverpool fan, I grew up on the Kop and everything," Warnock revealed. "I thought 'I f***ing hate this team, like what's going on here'. I was fuming, I was so angry.

"I didn't hate the team, I hated Rafa. I sat there thinking 'I'm so happy for the lads, but I'm also p***ed off with the way things have played out'. If you ever played in a final or you've not played in one, you don't feel part of even if you've played your part to get it."

Warnock's disappointment only intensified when he was excluded from the trophy parade back in Liverpool due to another last-minute change. This one forced him to watch his teammates celebrate on television.

He elaborated: "I remember that night just going to bed and they said 'right, the plane leaves at this time in the morning to go for the parade in Liverpool'. And then they changed it and said 'all the squad who were involved, the 18, and their wives or girlfriends'.

"So they put all them together, baring in mind they'd been on our flight coming over, the wives and girlfriends, and we flew back separately. Missed the parade, I watched it on Sky Sports.

"Our flight was late coming in. The lads literally landed at Liverpool Airport, got ferried to the buses and then just started the parade. I just remember thinking 'what a s***show'."

Unsurprisingly, Benítez doesn't make it onto Warnock's list of favorite people. He criticized Benitez's "horrendous" man management and branded him a "coward" for not having the courtesy to call him personally with the news.

To add insult to injury, Warnock missed out on both the celebrations and a hefty $250k (£200k/€232k) bonus that went to those in the matchday squad. But the defender would ultimately stay at Liverpool for another 18 months before a transfer to Blackburn Rovers in January 2007.

Liverpool.com says: There's no denying that Benítez left certain players feeling disgruntled. Even Steven Gerrard has admitted he was left with the feeling that the Spaniard didn't like him, although he credits him as a great tactical thinker.

But it's one thing being a little distant with players, and another to dangle a Champions League final dream only to then pull it away. If Warnock was indeed included on an original squad list, that's hard to justify.

Fortunately, the man-management at Liverpool has come on leaps and bounds. It's been a hallmark of Jürgen Klopp, and the same is true of likely incoming boss Arne Slot.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Mirror by clicking here.