STEVEN GERRARD allegedly snubbed TWO Premier League job offers before heading to Saudi Arabia.
The Liverpool legend also rejected two Championship teams prior to becoming the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq.
The 44-year-old was sacked by Aston Villa in October 2022 after a miserable 11-month spell at the helm.
Prior to his arrival at Villa Park, Gerrard had impressed north of the border in Scotland at Glasgow Rangers.
The ex-England midfielder ended Celtic’s dominance by guiding Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title without losing a single league match in 2021.
However, many were left questioning his credentials after he left Villa in the relegation zone.
But, according to The Telegraph, that ill-fated stint in the Midlands did not put off other clubs on these shores.
And he was not short of opportunities before finally deciding to head to Saudi.
This report states that after he was axed by Villa “there were other talks and other offers” and that “two Premier League clubs wanted him towards the end of that campaign” while two Championship teams were also interested.
This article also claims that Gerrard held talks “with two national teams and also a club in the United Arab Emirates”.
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He eventually took charge of Al-Ettifaq and, despite coming under pressure after a winless run, he signed a new contract after they finished sixth.
Gerrard’s deal, worth £15.2million-a-year, has now made him one of the best-paid on the planet.
But he has also admitted to The Telegraph that he sought advice from one of his biggest rival’s after leaving Villa.
It was none other than Manchester United’s legendary former boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Gerrard said: “I am not one of those people who looks to blame, who looks to point fingers.
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“It’s not my style and that’s the reason why I needed a period of time to process that hard toughness.
“It knocked my confidence a little bit. It does. I spoke to a lot of managers around it.
“I went to see Alex Ferguson for a couple of hours and he said, ‘Take your time, don’t jump into anything. Take your time and process it, analyse it’.”