Joe Allen reflects on Liverpool spell as career highlight after announcing retirement from football

The Liverpool side which won the Premier League last weekend bears little resemblance to 10 or even five years ago.Delve back through the annals of history at Anfield to those early and mid 2010 years and you’ll likely find some players you may have forgotten about.One who sticks out in this respect is Joe Allen. Quiet, unassuming and decidedly normal, Allen spent four years at Liverpool without ever really making an enormous impact.Nevertheless, the Welshman was a quality little player on his day and has enjoyed an excellent career with Swansea City, Stoke and the Wales national team as well as at Liverpool.And after 17 seasons as a senior professional, Allen has decided to call time on his playing days at the age of 35.Finishing back where it all began at Swansea, Liverpool’s former No.24 has looked back on some of his career highlights, including his time at Anfield.Photo by VI Images via Getty ImagesAlthough he was never fully able to become a fixture in the starting XI at Liverpool, Allen did still manage an interesting career with the Reds.Brendan Rodgers took Allen with him from Swansea in 2012, and the midfielder’s time at Liverpool also coincided with the arrival of Jurgen Klopp.And as he looked back on his career with swanseacity.com, Allen mentioned his four years at Anfield as one of the high points of his time as a professional.“The ones that spring straight to mind are winning the play-off final to get promoted to the Premier League, and then that first season in the Premier League and some of the victories we [Swansea] had at home,” Allen began, when asked to name his career highlights.READ MORE: Liverpool’s Martin Zubimendi alternative finally revealed as Reds weigh up ‘incredible’ midfielder“They were incredible moments, and then the chance to play for Liverpool – such an historic club – and be playing alongside some of the greats and fighting for the title there.“I had some really good years at Stoke,” he continued. “But the summer in France with Wales and qualifying for the World Cup are more memories and experiences where I find myself pinching myself. I would never have thought they were possible.”How many games did Joe Allen play for Liverpool?Clearly, Swansea and with the national team are where Allen had most of his career highlights. He was a big part of Wales’ run to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 after all.SeasonAppearancesGoalsAssists2012/1337202013/1426102014/1532102015/163733Joe Allen at Liverpool 2012-2016But he should also be proud of the time he spent at Liverpool. As he mentions, Allen spent the 2013/14 season pushing hard alongside the likes of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard to win Liverpool the Premier League.They came up short in the end, but Allen made 24 appearances for the team who so entertained on their way to second place.The Welshman was also well-used by Klopp in the cup competitions in 2015/16, making 33 appearances under the legendary former Liverpool manager, including an introduction from the bench in the 2016 Europa League final.In total Allen ends his career having made 131 Liverpool appearances, scoring seven goals. All the best in your retirement, Joe!