Liverpool legend Gerrard reveals interest from European giants

The former captain spent 17 years in Liverpool’s first team after progressing through the club’s academy, making 710 appearances and scoring 186 goals before leaving for Los Angeles Galaxy in 2015. Despite attracting interest from abroad, he said his priority was to remain at Anfield.

“I had some interest from foreign teams, and the majority of that was through José Mourinho: Inter Milan, Real Madrid on a couple of occasions,” Gerrard said on The Overlap Daily. “And then at the back end, [I had] a few conversations with my agent when Bastian Schweinsteiger was leaving Bayern.”

Gerrard explained that those approaches never came close to changing his mind. He was enjoying his football under Brendan Rodgers and had no intention of leaving Liverpool at that stage of his career.

“I wasn’t really that interested in it because I was never going to leave Liverpool at the time. I was enjoying my football under Brendan when that one came. But yeah, three or four of the big teams showed some interest during my career, which is flattering, of course it is.”

The midfielder’s comments underline how much of his career was shaped by loyalty to the club he joined as a child. Chelsea came closest to persuading him to leave, with Mourinho making a determined attempt to bring him to Stamford Bridge in 2005. Gerrard ultimately stayed, later lifting the Champions League trophy in Istanbul that season.

His record at Liverpool included two FA Cups, three League Cups, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, as well as European football’s biggest club prize. The Premier League title remained elusive, with Liverpool coming closest during the 2008-09 and 2013-14 campaigns.

Gerrard also won 114 England caps and scored 21 international goals. His standing at Liverpool was built on far more than appearances and trophies: he was the club’s captain through some of its most memorable European nights and one of the defining players of his generation.

He acknowledged that seeing English players win major honours abroad can prompt reflection. Jude Bellingham has enjoyed success with Real Madrid, while Harry Kane has collected silverware at Bayern Munich, making it easier to imagine what an overseas move might have brought.

“When you see players like Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane winning lots of trophies with foreign teams, the thought does come into your head and you start to reflect,” he said. “But I have no regrets about the decision I made. None at all.”

Gerrard left Liverpool after the 2014-15 season and finished his playing career in Major League Soccer. His latest comments suggest the opportunities were real, but his attachment to Liverpool outweighed the pull of Europe’s other leading clubs.