Riise has made 71 international appearances for Norway

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has paid tribute to former team-mate John Arne Riise following the Norwegian's �4m transfer to Italian club AS Roma.

The 27-year-old defender completed his transfer on Wednesday having made 371 appearances for the Reds and scored 31 goals in a seven-year Anfield career.

"John Arne has been a great player for Liverpool for six or seven seasons now," said Carragher.

"He can be very proud of what he's achieved with Liverpool."

Carragher added: "He's played at a very high level for a long time now. He's never injured and he's a great professional who has always looked after himself."

Left-back Riise signed for Liverpool in 2001 from Monaco and helped the Merseyside club to victory in the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League.

606: DEBATE Will Riise be missed at Anfield?

But Riise played second fiddle to Fabio Aurelio for much of last season after the Brazilian established himself as the club's first choice left-back.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is reshaping his squad over the summer, with Xabi Alonso and Peter Crouch linked with moves elsewhere.

Roma, who will play in the Champions League next season, have been targeting Riise for some time.

When Aurelio came off injured during last season's Champions semi-final first leg against Chelsea, Riise replaced him, only to score an own goal in stoppage time.

Last year, Riise was involved in an infamous spat with former team-mate Craig Bellamy after a karaoke night on a team bonding trip to Portugal.

Bellamy was fined �80,000 by the club for his involvement and stated he had "lost control".

The Norwegian also earned a tribute from Liverpool's chief executive Rick Parry.

"John has been a tremendous servant to Liverpool over many years," said Parry.

"Everybody at Anfield would now like to wish him all the best in his new career in Italy."