Steven Gerrard is the very embodiment of a Liverpool legend, and few would dare argue against the notion that he might be the greatest player in the club’s history. However, that legacy could have taken a very different turn had the iconic midfielder - one of his generation’s finest - chosen to leave Anfield in 2005.
Just months after captaining Liverpool to their historic fifth Champions League triumph, Gerrard grew frustrated over the club’s hesitation in offering him a new contract. Disillusioned, he submitted a transfer request and was heavily linked with moves to Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid. Chelsea, in particular, made their intentions clear, tabling a £32 million bid as Jose Mourinho eagerly sought to bring him to Stamford Bridge.
In the end, though, Gerrard chose loyalty over a fresh start, rejecting Chelsea’s advances to remain a Red. Mourinho, understandably disappointed, openly praised the midfielder’s talent - but in doing so, he also made a bold prediction, one that would later prove very accurate.
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Mourinho's Gerrard Prediction in 2005 Proved True
The Englishman's loyalty cost him a shinier trophy cabinet
"Gerrard is a great player, and we want an English core very much," Mourinho told The Times, per Manchester Evening News in 2005. "We normally play a midfield triangle and you can imagine that Gerrard and (Frank) Lampard, with (Claude) Makelele just behind them as protection, could be a very strong team, but I think it is Gerrard's loss more than Chelsea's.
"Why? Because Chelsea have good solutions; a good team with the conditions to improve and a club which will be one of the best in the world in a short period of time." He then made his damning prediction:
"He [Gerrard] can say `I was European champion at Liverpool' and I have to say that is correct. But I can say to him in the next 10 years we will compare trophies at Chelsea and trophies at Liverpool. And he will lose."
Mourinho was spot on in terms of the trophies won. Gerrard became a legend at Liverpool, but he didn't have much success. He won just three more trophies at the club (2006 FA Cup, 2006 Community Shield, 2012 League Cup). Chelsea, meanwhile, won 12 trophies in the next 10 years, including three Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph.
The Blues may even have been more successful should Gerrard have decided to join them, too. Gerrard may not regret his decision (see his interview below), but it goes without saying he would have wanted to be more successful during his career as a professional footballer as his time at Anfield coincided with one of the darker periods of the club's history.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold could be the next Scouser to face the consequences
In Liverpool, where Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley helped cultivate a footballing obsession that arguably eclipsed the rest of England’s passion for the sport, the game has long been more than just entertainment. At a time when few pastimes offered true escape from Merseyside’s struggles - whether the uncertainties of the post-war era or the Thatcher government’s neglect of the port city - football became a lifeline, a source of pride and identity, and a matter of Liverpool vs the world in many people's eyes.
With that in mind, being a Scouser fortunate enough to live out the dreams of countless local kids and wear the Liverbird is seen as a privilege to be cherished. That sentiment is at the heart of the Trent Alexander-Arnold saga, as the Anfield faithful - and those in the surrounding neighborhoods - grapple with the prospect of their homegrown star following the same divisive path that Steve McManaman and Michael Owen once took.
What also makes Alexander-Arnold’s situation unique compared to his predecessors is that he stands on the brink of leaving Liverpool during their most successful era since the 1980s. Many believe there’s no justification for his desire to move on, and his approach - remaining silent while letting his contract run down, potentially weakening the club financially - is seen as the ultimate betrayal, actions that no true Liverpudlian would do.