Steven Gerrard’s Response to Sir Alex Ferguson Claim He Wasn’t ‘Top Player’

Steven Gerrard is fondly remembered as one of the best midfielders of his generation, but former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once claimed the Englishman wasn’t quite as good as everyone else thought. After hearing Ferguson’s controversial comments, the Liverpool captain at the time responded to the Scot’s claims in style.

Although he never managed to win a league title, Gerrard is still widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s greatest-ever players – and for good reason. The retired midfielder spent 17 years with the Reds, scoring 120 goals and providing a further 92 assists in 504 league appearances.

He produced countless Man of the Match performances and inspired the Reds to glory in the 2005 Champions League and 2006 FA Cup finals. Gerrard, who went on to win the Scottish Premiership title as Rangers manager and is currently the head coach of Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq, also earned 114 caps for England. Only Peter Shilton, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham have made more appearances for the Three Lions.

What Sir Alex Ferguson Wrote About Gerrard

Despite all of Gerrard’s achievements, Manchester United legend Ferguson caused a stir in his controversial 2013 autobiography. His eyebrow-raising comments about the all-action midfielder immediately caught the attention of the media and fans alike. The Scottish boss wrote:

It was a surprising admission from Ferguson, whose United sides struggled to deal with Gerrard on many occasions. Hearing that arguably the greatest football manager of all time didn’t rate him as a truly elite player must have hurt Gerrard’s pride.

Gerrard, who was named in the PFA’s Premier League Team of the Year eight times, was asked what he made of Fergie’s comments during an appearance on The Clare Balding Show. Despite conceding that he was “a bit gutted” to hear Ferguson’s assessment of him, the Anfield hero responded impressively:

The England international went on to reveal: “He tried to sign me in early 2002-03, he tried to sign me again to play for United. I obviously refused, so I can’t really take it to heart too much. But I’m a bit gutted because I’m a big fan of his.” Watch the clip below:

It was the perfect response from Gerrard. He revealed that Ferguson tried to sign him twice – first when he was a teenager, and the second time in 2002 – but he said no on both occasions.

This gives the impression that the United manager’s comment about Gerrard not being a “top, top player” may have been borne out of, dare we say it, a touch of bitterness. Why would Fergie have tried to sign the midfielder (twice) if he didn’t believe he was top class?

Where Gerrard Would Have Played For Man Utd in 2002

If Ferguson’s pursuit of Gerrard had been successful back in 2002, Man Utd would have boasted a true embarrassment of riches in the midfield department. Back then, the Red Devils had their four untouchable midfielders: Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham.

They also had the mercurial Juan Sebastian Veron, who joined United for a record-breaking £28.1 million from Lazio in the summer of 2001. The Argentine, however, struggled to adapt to the tempo of the Premier League and often reserved his best performances for the Champions League.

While Ferguson publicly defended Veron on several occasions, the Scot may have privately been tempted by the option of replacing the Argentina international with Gerrard. After all, the midfielder was eventually offloaded to Chelsea for a cut-price fee in the summer of 2003.

A midfield quartet of Keane, Scholes, Giggs and Beckham with Gerrard playing in the hole behind Ruud van Nistelrooy would have been devastating – domestically and potentially even in Europe, too. We’ll never know for certain, but perhaps United would even have successfully fended off Arsenal’s Invincibles and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea between 2003-2006 if the Liverpool icon had joined.

That said, there was never any realistic chance of Gerrard swapping Anfield for Old Trafford. No player has moved directly from Liverpool to Man Utd – or vice-versa – since Phil Chisnall back in 1964. It would have trumped Sol Campbell’s move from Tottenham to Arsenal as the most controversial transfer in Premier League history.

Gary Neville Tried to Convince Gerrard to Join Man Utd

Years later, Red Devils legend Gary Neville revealed how his ’30-second’ chat with Gerrard went as they briefly discussed a potential shock transfer to the Theatre of Dreams.

Neville explained: “I think there were two or three times it happened with England with me, where I spoke to Alan Shearer during Euro 1996. I had a conversation with him. But I was more junior at that time, so I couldn’t have a serious conversation with him. Definitely with Wayne Rooney had a little chat, but again, he’s a younger player so you can’t put too much pressure on him.” The ex-England right-back would then describe the difference when it came to Gerrard:

Gerrard Almost Left Liverpool For Chelsea

Indeed, Gerrard was seriously tempted by the idea of joining Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2005 after the Blues submitted a then-record £32 million offer. He turned down a £100,000-a-week contract offer from Liverpool and told the club he wanted to leave Anfield.

He told reporters at the time (per BBC Sport): “This has been the hardest decision I have ever had to make. I fully intended to sign a new contract after the Champions League final, but the events of the past five to six weeks have changed all that. I have too much respect for the club and people at it to get involved in a slagging match.”

However, Gerrard eventually reversed his decision and ended up staying with the Reds until 2015. There’s also every chance that Ferguson changed his mind and would be full of praise for the English legend now that he has been out of the game for over a decade.