placeholder image
The Overlap
Man Utd wanted to sign one of the best players from their fierce rivals Liverpool FC.
The former United defender revealed that the legendary manager asked him to find out if Gerrard would be tempted by the controversial move while the pair were away on international duty with England. It clearly didn't work.
Although he was presented with various opportunities to leave Liverpool during his career, the former England international remained at Anfield until he joined LA Galaxy back in 2015. The thought of Gerrard switching to United might seem outlandish now, but as Neville explained, Ferguson was quite the fan of pursuing 'ambitious' transfers.
Read More
Neville and Gerrard reflect on possible United transfer
Speaking on The Overlap, Gary Neville recalled how he was tasked by Sir Alex Ferguson to gauge whether Steven Gerrard would be tempted by a move to Manchester United.
“So, I have this conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson, which was quite a bizarre one,” he said on Stick to Football. “So obviously, this rumour mill started, I think, at sort of around you just before your contract was coming up to an end, was it? Around that time? End of 2004. I think it was around this time, wasn’t it? International break in March time. Yeah, and there’s rumours around you.”
“I think Chelsea, it was the point where Chelsea were coming in to, and he just said, ‘Look, just go and knock on his door,’” he continued. "And basically said, ‘I’ll go and get him from Liverpool myself, and I’ll walk him back down the East Lancs.' And those were his exact words. So, I actually went in with that line to Steven.”
Gerrard responded: “He got the most polite, respectful, no." Neville added: “It was the politest, respectful ‘f*** off’ I’ve had in my life.”
While it might come as a surprise to some United supporters, it did not surprise Neville. He continued: "Chelsea were massively after you, I think, at that time. And I think he thought, well, look, I can steal it. He’d had some ambitious transfers in the past.
“He brought Wayne Rooney, Eric Cantona. He brought Rio [Ferdinand] from Leeds. These were quite controversial transfers, you know. He’d dipped in on Kenny Dalglish at Blackburn over Roy [Keane]’s. It’s not even anyone you’re mentioning. It’s not even comparable. He considered it, he considered it… for three seconds.”
Continue Reading