Mamadou Sakho, the French international and former Liverpool player, left the club under a cloud after falling out with Jurgen Klopp. The defender was sent home from Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States in 2016 due to disciplinary issues and never played for the Reds again.

He was sidelined for the first half of the season and relegated to train with Liverpool Under-23s before joining Crystal Palace on loan in January 2017. Crystal Palace later secured Sakho’s services permanently for £26million on summer transfer deadline day, less than Liverpool’s initial asking price of £30m.

Despite his controversial departure, Sakho still holds affection for Liverpool, eight years after leaving. The 35-year-old joined Liverpool from Paris Saint-Germain in an £18m deal in September 2013 and made 80 appearances during his time at Anfield. Prior to his move to Liverpool, he had made 201 appearances for PSG over six years.

Sakho has now opened up on his equal fondness for former clubs Liverpool and PSG as they clash in the Champions League round-of-16, with the first leg at the Parc des Princes. In an interview with Le Parisien, he revealed his balanced playlist: “In a playlist, I put Ô Ville Lumière and You’ll Never Walk Alone next to each other. I don’t choose one over the other.”

He continued, “When I hear the first, I see myself at the Parc des Princes and when I hear the second, I am at Anfield. They are the same thrills. I don’t compare them, I take them both.”

Asked about how he sees the clash panning out, Sakho explained: “PSG has built a collective that is gaining momentum despite all the criticism heard at the start of the season. We can clearly see that coach Luis Enrique had a vision.

“Honestly, it’s really 50-50 between the two and a pleasure to watch. Everything can be decided by an acceleration from Dembele, Barcola or Salah. Or an overflow from Hakimi or Alexander-Arnold. And the difference is perhaps also the crowd who can make it.”

“The atmosphere at the Parc des Princes is also special. Liverpool’s players will have to be ready to resist it. And conversely, I already know that the Parisians will remember the return match in Liverpool. Whether they win or lose. Because a match there remains a unique experience. When you play there, you don’t forget it. The winner of this match won’t be the only favourite for the final victory, but it will be remembered by everyone. And my heart won’t lean to one side. I’ll feel as red as blue.”

The French defender’s affection for Liverpool dates back before he donned the famous red shirt, confessing: “I knew Anfield as an adult. The words that come to mind when I think of this stadium are: love of the jersey and history. Already, the stands are close to the pitch.

“There, you feel what it means: the twelfth man. It’s really a mythical and special arena. In fact, it’s as if there was a special gas in the atmosphere that makes anything happen and nothing is impossible.”

Sakho’s admiration for the club was no secret: “I wasn’t surprised when I arrived because, when I played in Paris, Liverpool was my favourite English team. I loved that club. In fact, in my head, after PSG, there was also Liverpool. I knew that this club had a long history and that impressed me. For a player, it’s necessarily exciting to be part of such a club.”

Discussing the stark contrast between the football culture in Paris and Liverpool, he remains resolute in his comparison: “Paris is a capital with many other things than a football club. Liverpool is a city where football is really the only thing that matters.”

“Paris is a little less of a football city because it is made up of inhabitants who are not all from the city, the identity is necessarily a little less strong. Liverpool, it’s in their culture, in their blood. It’s tradition. We can compare it to Naples, for example, where football is also a passion.

“Liverpool is a big village. Children were born there, grandparents still live there. So that you understand, there are lots of places in the Kop that are passed down from generation to generation. They are passed down from grandfather to grandson. It is really a family tradition. So it is necessarily different from Paris. Anfield is therefore a village like Liverpool. I, by the way, talk about Liverpool country.”

This article originally appeared on Liverpool Echo