Liverpool Champions League winner went face-to-face with childhood bully in McDonald's

Ex-Liverpool defender John Arne Riise has claimed he encountered his childhood tormentor in a McDonald's, not long after the Reds' Champions League triumph in 2005. Riise, who moved to Liverpool from Monaco in 2001, enjoyed a successful seven-year spell at Anfield, amassing a haul of seven major trophies during that time.

Most notably, Riise was part of the team that overturned a 3-0 deficit against Carlo Ancelotti's legendary AC Milan side to take home the European Cup on penalties.

The former full-back has now recalled the meeting he had with someone who used to tease him as a youngster. Riise explained that he saw his former bully on a trip back to his hometown following the miracle of Istanbul.

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He explained how he first noticed the familiar face wearing the fast food chain's uniform. Putting two and two together he then decided to a journey to the nearest McDonald's to face the man who had made his childhood a misery, and then even had his past former tormentor take his food order.

"I went back to my old city, Aalesund, because my brother's child was doing something there which I wanted to go and support. Anyway, I parked my car up and I recognised a guy, walking towards me... it was one of the kids who used to bully me," Riise said during a chat with Ladbrokes, the official betting partner of Liverpool FC.

"I could see he was wearing a McDonald's shirt, and there was a McDonald's about 100 yards away from where I'd parked. I just thought to myself 'I have to do this'."

Riise revealed that the intense encounter occurred after he was buzzing from having just snapped up a swanky new car after winning the Champions League, reports the Mirror.

"I bought myself a red Ferrari, which got delivered just a couple of days before our summer break. I decided to bring it back to Norway with me, because I'd just got it, and I wanted to use it for the month during my break.

"In Norway, the rule seems to be that you shouldn't believe you're something which you're not, but I was really proud of what I'd achieved that year, and it was always a dream of mine to own that car, so if ever I got the chance, I was going to buy it."

Despite his clear modesty, Riise also recounted how he couldn't resist confronting the bully to showcase the stark contrast in their lives. He added: "There's nothing wrong with working in McDonald's, by the way. But, you know, the comparison was that this guy was there, and I was here - that was my first thought.

"So, I walked into the McDonald's and went over to his counter. He was looking down, taking orders, so he called me over and looked up. You know when you have to double-take someone? That's what he did, and that's when I knew he knew who I was.

"He knew I'd just won the Champions League. He knew the Ferrari was mine, and I knew what he was doing now - again, there's nothing wrong with it, but the comparison was so big."

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Riise then shared his scathing parting shot to cap off the encounter: "He took my order, I got my McDonald's, thanked him very much and walked away.

"Obviously, I threw the McDonald's into the bin, but the feeling I got when I walked out of there, just made everything worth it for me. You don't need to do anything crazy, or say anything stupid, but in that moment, just going up to order from him, for me that was enough. He knew, and I knew."

The Liverpool legend notched up 234 games and struck the back of the net 21 times. His spell at Anfield was garnished with silverware including the FA Cup, League Cup, two Community Shields and two UEFA Super Cups, before he moved to Roma in 2008.

Riise also featured in another Champions League final in 2007 but could not relive the glory of Istanbul as Rafa Benitez's team fell to a 2-1 defeat against AC Milan, with the Serie A giants settling the scores.