Former Champions League winner a special guest at Newcastle training session

Djimi Traoré - who played in the Reds' 2005 victory over AC Milan in Istanbul - is now assistant manager at MLS side Seattle Sounders, and was invited to the Magpies' Benton base by his former manager on Friday.

The ex-Mali international - now 38 - ended his career with the Sounders, where he played alongside current Newcastle full-back DeAndre Yedlin.

As well as Liverpool, he played for teams including Lens, Monaco and Marseille, and had loan spells with Charlton, Birmingham and Portsmouth.

But it is for his time at Anfield that he is best remembered. He made more than 140 appearances for the Reds in all competitions, winning FA Cup and League Cup winners medals, and told nufc.co.uk: "For me, if I have been a little bit successful at Liverpool, Rafa was a big part in that.

"I spent two years with him and I enjoyed every moment. He made me grow as a player - and a man too. I can say only positive things about Rafa.

"Back at that time, my confidence was very low because I'd had a few clashes with the head coach before that, and Rafa came and gave me back my confidence.

"I learnt a lot - I improved a lot tactically and he gave me the joy to play football again.

"I remember before he arrived at the club, in my head I was done with Liverpool. I wanted to leave, and he convinced me to stay.

"I can't thank him enough because in the end we won the Champions League together."

Traoré was impressed by what he saw in Friday's training session - and explained that he had noticed some subtle differences in how Benítez works now compared to their days together at Liverpool's Melwood training base.

"It's the same kind of thing, but I also think he does a lot of things differently to ten years ago," said Traoré.

"It's not only a player who improves - it's a coach as well. You gain more experience and Rafa has been to the top clubs.

"There was a lot of intensity to the training and you can see the players are very focused."

And Traoré admitted that he could barely ask for a better mentor to learn from as he takes the first steps in his own coaching career.

"He has a massive influence on the way I want to coach," he said. "I always enjoyed his training sessions and the way he prepared for games. He was very specific and knew what he was doing.

"That was one of his strengths - he always knew about the opponent. He was very smart on that."