Topics: Jamie Carragher, Liverpool, Champions League
Jamie Carragher snubbed Anfield when naming the best football stadium which is "the pinnacle" of football.
Liverpool's iconic home ground is renowned for being a special place, bringing a different kind of atmosphere at European nights under the lights.
It will play host to yet another on Tuesday night when Liverpool take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16 first leg.
Carragher himself knows all about the feeling Anfield has but he believes that Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu is the best in the business.
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The Bernabeu, which has been home of the 14-time European champions since 1947, has always had an unmatched aura about it and recent renovations have only helped cement it as the go-to place for football.
A new feature allows Real to close the roof to keep the noise in for big Champions League games and Carragher understands why Trent Alexander-Arnold would be attracted to make the move as the stadium "feels special when you're on the side of the pitch".
"I was at the Bernabeu the other week for a Champions League game," Carragher recalled on The Overlap US.
"Coming from England as a kid, you’d always ask your parents for a Real Madrid or Barcelona kit, those were the glamour clubs for us. I was always Barcelona because Gary Lineker went there from Everton in the mid-80s. When I was speaking to the Spanish lads at Liverpool, they always saw Real Madrid as the club in Spain.
"I played at the old Bernabeu but when I stood in the new stadium the other week, I was thinking, 'this is the pinnacle'. I was almost thinking, I can understand where Trent is coming from if he comes here! I hope he hasn’t seen this new roof! But seriously, every time we go to Tottenham we say that stadium is one of the best in the world but Real Madrid’s stadium is the best in the world. It is. It feels special when you’re on the side of the pitch."
Real beat rivals Atletico 2-1 in their esteemed arena in last week's Champions League round of 16 first leg and will travel to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano for the second meeting on Wednesday.
They look set to play Arsenal in the quarter-finals after the Gunners thrashed PSV 7-1 in the first leg.
