Steven Gerrard saw Man City reach the FA Cup final while admitting it “hurts” to see Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo as they “should be playing for Liverpool.”
Guehi and Semenyo both joined Man City in January having been strongly linked with moves to Anfield – the former having undergone a medical before a deal collapsed last summer.
The failure to land those signings was widely criticised at the time and Liverpool have been short at both centre-back and out wide throughout this difficult season.
Speaking during TNT Sports’ coverage of Man City‘s 2-1 win over Southampton in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, Gerrard expressed his frustration that neither player ended up on Merseyside.
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“They should be playing for Liverpool, that hurts even more!” the former captain said.
“We were linked with those two players who would have made a big difference to Liverpool.
“I’ve said it before on record, two top, top players, and for the price that they got them in as well, in today’s market they’re two bargains.
“Quality players, experience, ready to go into the prime years of their career, international-level players and what they’ve done is just help kick City on at the right time.”
Manchester City's Marc Guehi during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Picture date: Saturday January 24, 2026.
Guehi, 25, was set to join Liverpool in a deal worth £35 million in September only for Crystal Palace to pull the plug at the last minute, with the defender going on to join Man City for £20 million.
With Semenyo then revealed to be available for £65 million due to a release clause in his contract, Liverpool were widely touted with a move as successor to Mo Salah – only to opt out as he moved to Manchester instead.
Neither player was involved against Southampton on Sunday but they have been central to Man City‘s revival in the second half of the season.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, February 8, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot (R) shakes hands with Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo after the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC at Anfield. The game ended 1-2. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Semenyo has scored eight goals and laid on three assists in his 21 games, including match-winners against Fulham, Leeds and Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-final, while Guehi has been first-choice starter at centre-back.
Liverpool instead opted to wait and line up a £60 million deal for 20-year-old defender Jeremy Jacquet to join from Rennes in the summer, while RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande is their priority target to replace Salah.
The hope is that the short-term hurt of missing out on Guehi and Semenyo will pay off when Liverpool land their long-term targets for the roles.