Gerrard’s official capacity at the club was a midfield general but he had another role off the pitch.
In his autobiography, My Story, Gerrard explained that he was tasked with persuading players to join Liverpool.He attempted to convince Willian and Toni Kroos to join Liverpool but his efforts were ultimately in vain as the Reds failed to sign either player.“I had an unofficial role at the club, trying to persuade some great players to join Liverpool. In 2013, the latest player in our sights was Willian, the Brazilian midfielder.
I followed the usual routine when approaching a star player we wanted to sign,” he wrote in his 2015 book.“Instead of calling him directly I always sent a text. It seemed more respectful and allowed the player to read my message at a time when it suited him best. A cold call felt wrong.”
Gerrard continued: “I slipped into the groove with Willian. I said hello and hoped he didn’t mind me contacting him directly.“I stressed how much I admired him as a player and then, having mentioned that I knew Liverpool were speaking to his agent, I used the standard line: ‘If you need to chat or ask any questions I’m available at any time’.”Willian, who went onto sign for Chelsea, replied: “I’m not sure Liverpool can give me the Champions League.”
Gerrard tried to lure Kroos to Liverpool, too. He added: “We (Gerrard and Brendan Rodgers) both admired Kroos immensely. I knew Real Madrid were gearing up to make Bayern Munich an offer and so I felt a bit awkward when I texted Kroos.”The German was on his way to winning the World Cup with his country and Real were the champions of Europe. But God loves a trier, and so I gave it a whirl.”
Gerrard was one of the best midfielders of his generation, having played 710 times for his hometown club.The 44-year-old scored in Liverpool’s miraculous Champions League comeback in the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan.
You may be expecting Gerrard’s picks to be one of his opponents from that night in Istanbul as he faced Andrea Pirlo, Kaka and Gennaro Gattuso.
A year later, he netted a stunning volley in the dying embers of the FA Cup final against West Ham United to send the game to extra-time with Liverpool winning on penalties..
After jokingly saying former Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher was “the easiest”, he then gave his thoughts.“The hardest? Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard,” he said.“They were all tough players.”Gerrard is regularly compared to former England teammates Scholes and Lampard, having all been part of England’s ‘Golden Generation’ of talent that failed to go further than a quarter-final at an international tournament during the 2000s.