Steven Gerrard has revealed Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid wanted him to force his departure from Liverpool. The former England captain was linked with a move to the Bernabeu throughout his career with Mourinho particularly keen during his time in the Spanish capital.
And Gerrard has lifted the lid on the overtures made by Real, claiming they wanting him to cause unrest at Anfield.
"They wanted me to kick up a war to get out of Liverpool for a certain amount of money, which I wasn’t prepared to do,' Gerrard said.
"I think Real Madrid, when they’re after a player they have the attitude of "we’re Real Madrid, you should fight to come to us. But my love for Liverpool, I’m not prepared to go to war and plus I was very happy and stable at the time."
Gerrard also spoke of his respect for Mourinho and revealed the Chelsea boss tried to sign him with three different clubs.
He added: "I’ve got nothing but admiration for what he’s achieved. Not just at Chelsea when he’s been a rival but at Porto when he went to Inter Milan. He’s had an incredible career. "Congratulations on a wonderful career, he said he had a regret he didn’t work with me on a daily basis.
"He just told me to be really proud of what I achieved and to enjoy my family everyday were the key messages that I took from it.
"Just for him to take the time out to write that letter shows his class. It was a nice touch at the time."
"He is one of the best out there and he’s tried to sign me on three occasions, three different teams.
"Even though I haven’t played for him, I’ve had that close relationship with him and I’ve still felt he rates me as a player and even bumping into him when the rivalry’s been going on, he’s given me some good bits of advice and yeah I’m a big fan."
Gerrard bid farewell to Anfield in a charity game during the summer and the ex-England captain revealed Mourinho sent him a message via John Terry.
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