The Liverpool icon was forced to come to an arrangement with his family during his last stint in management
Steven Gerrard during his time in Saudi Arabia.
Steven Gerrard during his time in Saudi Arabia.(Image: Getty Images)
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Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard is set to return to Anfield this weekend to participate in a legends match against Borussia Dortmund. The Champions League-winning star retired from football in 2016 after a spell with LA Galaxy, before embarking on a managerial career.
The 45-year-old had a successful tenure at the helm of Rangers, followed by a brief, challenging stint in charge of Aston Villa. Gerrard then shocked the football world by taking up the managerial role at Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq in July 2023.
This move brought about a significant shift for the Gerrard family. The former England ace reportedly reached an agreement with his partner, Alex, allowing her and their four children to reside in a neighbouring Gulf country, whilst Gerrard commuted between the two areas.
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Alex, whom he wed in 2007, reportedly did not wish to spend lengthy periods in Saudi Arabia. As such, the family settled in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, which is merely an hour's drive from Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia, where Gerrard was based.
This close proximity enabled Gerrard to travel along a 15-mile causeway linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, despite being provided with a luxury villa in Dammam by his club.
Gerrard himself responded to suggestions he was living permanently in Bahrain by calling into a local radio station. He explained that his time was divided between Bahrain and over the border, where Alex and the family were residing.
Steven Gerrard and Alex Gerrard
Steven Gerrard and Alex Gerrard set up a commuting arrangement in the Middle East(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
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Gerrard's wife and children reportedly occupied a £10,000-per-month six-bedroom villa in the Hamala district of the city. The property featured its own swimming pool, tennis courts and games room, and was located within an exclusive gated community amongst Bahrain's elite.
Gerrard's Saudi Arabian venture came with an eye-watering £15.2 million-a-year salary, making him the fourth-highest-paid manager globally, behind only Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone at the time.
His spell concluded in January 2025. Nevertheless, Gerrard reportedly forfeited a further £10m from what remained of his contract by departing on mutual terms. Since then, he has regularly featured as a pundit on TNT Sports.
With his former club enduring difficulties under Arne Slot, with some supporters even demanding he intervene to stabilise matters, Gerrard made a remark towards the end of last year that would excite many Liverpool fans.
Steven Gerrard as Al-Ettifaq manager
Gerrard left Al-Ettifaq in January 2025(Image: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
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The former Reds captain told Ally McCoist on TNT Sports that he would embrace the chance to return to Liverpool in whatever role.
"I'll be brutally, brutally honest with you: I'd help Liverpool in any department at any minute of every day," he said. "I'd help them with anything. I don't want the Liverpool manager to lose his job, I want Arne Slot to fix this and turn it around and make Liverpool great.
"If that right opportunity, or that feeling that I got when I first bounced into Rangers, doesn't come then I'm fine. I'm not searching for a job, I'm not down the Job Centre for what's available. I'm not hoping 'that one might come available.'"
He clarified: "My life's great, my family life's great, I'm enjoying doing [media work], I've got a lot going on. My life's good, I'm fine. If the right football project comes up, the hunger's back, it's there."
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