Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was heavily linked with Premier League rivals Chelsea during his 17 years in the first team
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has opened up on his career as both a player and a manager, and offered insight into how close he came to joining Chelsea.
The midfielder is understandably regarded as one of the club’s true greats, having progressed through the academy ranks in the late 90s before earning a deserved call-up to the senior side. He quickly established himself as a crucial figure in the team and was eventually named captain by late manager Gerard Houllier, replacing Sami Hyypia in the role.
Throughout his Anfield career, Gerrard won the Champions League in Istanbul in 2005, before helping the side reach another final in the competition two years later in 2007. He also lifted a handful of domestic trophies, including two FA Cups and three League Cups.
However, the Premier League title was always the one that eluded Gerrard, despite a couple of near-misses over the years. Liverpool were arguably a far cry from the force they are today, having since won two league titles in the last five years under Jurgen Klopp in 2020 and current head coach Arne Slot in 2024.
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As a result, it was no surprise that Gerrard was linked with a number of top European clubs during his playing days, none more so than rivals Chelsea. While Jose Mourinho was in charge of the London club between 2004 and 2007, winning two league titles in that time before returning a decade later to secure a third, his desire to sign Liverpool’s captain was no secret.
Regardless of how close Gerrard came to making the switch to Stamford Bridge, he ultimately spent the majority of his playing career at Liverpool. He eventually departed at the age of 34 in 2015 to join MLS side LA Galaxy, before retiring altogether at the end of 2016.
In a recent interview with TNT Sports pundit Ally McCoistthe former Reds skipper sat down to discuss his entire career, from his playing days to his coaching journey. One topic discussed at length was the interest from Chelsea and what prompted the temptation to potentially move at the time.
“A phone number on my phone that I didn’t recognise (was how I learned of Chelsea’s interest),” Gerrard began. “I called it back and it was Jose Mourinho.
“I was coming into a really good time and I felt confident. I was consistent and I felt like I could go up against anyone. There were a couple of teams showing some interest through my agent, but that one came and it was (tempting).
“This was in 2004 and I was very happy where I was. But after the Champions League final (in 2005), when we won it, I had three years left on my contract.
“The club was starting to speak to people who had three years left on their contracts, but I was getting a bit of a different feel from the club and a different feel from Rafa (Benitez). Rightly or wrongly, my relationship with Rafa was strong from a football perspective, but very cold in terms of man management compared to (Gerard) Houllier.
“I was having conversations with Rafa where he was saying, ‘I know your agent’s speaking to Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Chelsea’, which wasn’t the case, by the way. He was saying to me, ‘are you sure you want to be here?’ and I was getting doubts.
“But to cut a long story short, I ended up signing the new deal with Liverpool and was extremely happy. Everything was fine with Rafa from there onwards, but of course I was guilty of doing a bit of flirting.”
One of the biggest factors that contributed to Gerrard even entertaining the idea of joining Chelsea was Mourinho’s influence. The Portuguese coach’s desire to sign Gerrard has been well documented, particularly as he attempted to poach him on three occasions while managing Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
“Mourinho comes on the phone, arguably the best manager in the world at the time, and when he speaks to you, his convincing skills and people skills were high level,” Gerrard continued. “It was tempting, of course it was.
“Financially they’re offering you double your money, but for me it was all about how I was going to stay one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and how I was going to keep my England place. That’s what was going through my mind – and who wants me.
“Does Rafa really want me? Does he want to build it (the team) around me? Because if he doesn’t, I’m being told by arguably one of the best managers in world football that I’m going to be the main man. Now, whether he meant that or not is a different conversation, but he (Mourinho) was certainly convincing and made me feel that way.”
