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Allen began his journey with boyhood club Swansea City, playing a key role in their back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.

After a single season in the top flight with the Swans, he reunited with manager Brendan Rodgers at Anfield in 2012, joining Liverpool in a $20 million deal.

He was – I knew his methods well and he was signing a player who he knew really well, so that definitely was a big help, a big draw of course.

"He'd done an incredible job in taking us (Swansea City) up, and then in that first season in the Premier League, some of the football we played and how well we did was...

If only we could have got the couple more points we needed over the season, it could have been a lot different."

While Liverpool didn't clinch the title during Allen's stint, their runner-up finish did secure them a berth in the Champions League for the first time since 2009.

The Welsh international opened up about achieving his childhood dream of competing in Europe's premier club competition but expressed disappointment at not playing as often as he'd hoped in the Champions League with Liverpool.

"The Champions League, that was incredible.

You know, when you join a club like Liverpool, I would have hoped to have played in a lot more.

"We didn't get out of the group stages, which was unfortunate, so from that standpoint, it was quite disappointing.

"So, to have played those games, to have played Real Madrid home and away, from where I'd come from, it was hard to believe, but yeah, I loved it."

Allen's journey with Liverpool concluded when he headed to Stoke City in a move back in the summer of 2016, with his final match for the Reds being the Europa League final loss to Sevilla.

He made his way back to where it all began, rejoining Swansea on a free transfer in July 2022, clocking up 78 appearances and netting four goals in his second spell at the Liberty Stadium.

The Welsh midfielder announced his departure from professional football just last week, making his swansong in a 3-3 tie against Oxford City in the Championship's concluding weekend.

Reflecting on his career trajectory, Allen acknowledges its poetic end: "I am fortunate to be in a position where I am back at the club I love, and to have had the chance to come home for the last three seasons," he expressed upon his retirement.

"To be announcing my retirement as a Swansea City player makes it extra special, I have been very fortunate

I am so proud and so glad to have had all the experiences I have had over my career.

"The (highlights) 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 had at home - 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, 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."