Al-Ettifaq boss Steven Gerrard has revealed that he was spurned by two Championship clubs ahead of his move to Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, after he witnessed his new side, Al-Ettifaq, win a fantastic game against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr 2-1, Gerrard revealed he only travelled for talks with the Saudi side because he hadn’t heard back from the two EFL Championship jobs that he was interested in.
The two sides that he was interested in managing were believed to be Leicester City, now managed by Enzo Maresca, and Leeds, now managed by former Norwich City boss Daniel Farke.
“I had a couple of other things on the table at Championship level and I had to make a decision what I believed was right for me,” the former Rangers and Aston Villa boss Gerrard explained when asked why he did not agree to come to Saudi when he was first approached.
“In time with being patient, this was the best offer on the table because we had two offers that had a chance, they were taken away from me rather than me making that decision.”
Gerrard’s outlined what would need to happen before accepting the job
Gerrard,43, has signed Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson this summer for around £20 million and was seeking assurance from the bosses of the Saudi side before he took over.
“They needed to make signings, they needed to make alterations to the environment, the facilities, big decisions needed making from their side of things.”
The former Liverpool captain will be hoping to pull off another shock this season as his Al-Ettifaq side are nowhere near one of the favourites for the title.
With the ‘big four’ in the division spending a rather large amount of money, Gerrard will have to rely on his man management skills to upset the apple cart this season.