Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard says he has no regrets about turning down approaches from Real Madrid and other major European clubs during his playing career.
Gerrard, who also captained England, ended his career in 2016 after 19 years as a professional footballer. He made 710 appearances for Liverpool, winning nine trophies with the club, before joining MLS side LA Galaxy in 2015.
Speaking to Overlap Daily, the 46-year-old said there had been repeated interest from abroad, much of it connected to Jose Mourinho.
“There was some interest from abroad, most of it from Mourinho,” Gerrard said. “Inter Milan, Real Madrid on a couple of occasions, and then towards the end of my career, a few conversations with my agent when Schweinsteiger left Bayern in 2015.”
Gerrard said leaving Liverpool was never a serious consideration at the time, even when some of the biggest clubs in Europe made contact.
“I wasn’t really interested at the time because there was no way I was leaving Liverpool,” he said. “When that opportunity came, I was very happy playing under Rodgers.”
The former midfielder added: “But yes, there were three or four big clubs that showed interest in my career, and that’s always flattering, of course.”
Gerrard spent the majority of his career at Liverpool and is regarded as one of the Premier League’s greatest midfielders. He acknowledged that the success of other leading English players abroad has occasionally made him reflect on the path he chose.
“When you see players like Bellingham and Kane winning trophies at clubs abroad, you think about those things and look back,” he said.
However, Gerrard remains certain that staying at Anfield was the correct decision for him, despite the possibility of joining a club such as Real Madrid.
“But in terms of the decision I made, I have no regrets,” he said. “Not at all.”
