John Arne Riise was a terrific value-for-money signing for Liverpool.

The Reds paid AS Monaco £4 million for the Norwegian left-back in 2001 and he would spend the next seven years Anfield as the club’s first-choice left-back.

Perhaps this is a little generous, but he was kind of like Liverpool’s very own Roberto Carlos. Similar to the Brazilian defender, Riise was full of energy, would spend the game operating up and down the left flank and possessed an absolute cannon of a left foot. He could take a mean free-kick, too.

He won a host of major honours with Liverpool including the FA Cup, the League Cup, two UEFA Super Cups and, of course, the UEFA Champions League in 2005.

Like the majority of his teammates who secured that epic victory over AC Milan, Istanbul was the single biggest highlight of Riise’s career.

Riise explains how he dealt with childhood bully

Now 36, Riise, who retired last year, has revealed how winning the Champions League provided him with enough confidence to confront a childhood bully.

Speaking on League of Legends on Stadium Astro in Malaysia, Riise tells the story of how he get his own back on the bully without resorting to physical violence or insults.

"In 2005 I went back to my home city and met in the street some of the guys that bullied me when I was young,” he explained. "I thought 'I can be an idiot, or I can just be smiling and happy', and I was so confident in who I was and what I had done.

"One of them worked at McDonald's - and there's nothing wrong with that - but I had just won the Champions League.

"So I went to McDonald's and ordered a Happy Meal by him. I didn't say anything.

"I recognised him and I know he recognised me. I was just happy and smiley, but I knew in my head I was thinking 'in your face'.

"And I walked out a happy man. It was very good for me to come home and get the look on their faces."

Nicely done, John. Everyone loves a story about a bully getting their comeuppance.

Watch: Riise on dealing with childhood bully

Riise is now retired

Riise moved on to AS Roma for three seasons before returning to England in 2011 and signing for Fulham.

After three more years of Premier League football, the former Norway international began to wind down his career in Cyprus with APOEL before brief stints at Delhi Dynamos and Aalesund.