James Milner Reveals Why He Spoke Spanish to His Children for Three Years
Former Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder James Milner has revealed that he deliberately spoke Spanish to his children almost exclusively during the first three years of their lives.
Speaking on the Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Milner confirmed that the unusual approach was intentional, although it became more difficult once his children started bringing English homework home from school.
Milner explained that his decision came from his own interest in learning another language. While playing for Manchester City, he hired a Spanish tutor and began studying the language because he admired people who were able to communicate in multiple languages.
He also wanted to use Spanish to communicate more easily with some of his teammates, including David Silva and Pablo Zabaleta.
The former England international continued the habit after becoming a father, speaking Spanish with his children while his wife communicated with them in English.
Milner previously revealed that former Manchester City teammate Gaël Clichy inspired the idea after Milner learned that Clichy’s daughter was able to speak several languages.
By 2019, Milner said he would initially speak to his children in Spanish before repeating himself in English when necessary. He noted that his daughter had developed a strong understanding of the language, while his son was still learning.
His Spanish skills even came in handy during Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Barcelona in 2019. After Milner fouled Lionel Messi, the Argentine reportedly called him “burro,” meaning “donkey” in Spanish. Milner understood the remark but simply smiled before returning to the dressing room.
What began as Milner’s personal language-learning project eventually became a unique part of his children’s upbringing.
