10 Players You Didn't Know Real Madrid Almost Signed

2. Steven Gerrard

So often seen as the emblem of Liverpool, he might as well get comfortable, because Steven Gerrard will never be leaving Liverpool. The captain has a job for life at the club, in whatever capacity he chooses, with his unwavering loyalty over the years having proved crucial to Liverpool€™s recent resurgence under Brendan Rodgers. However, despite his repeated insistence that Merseyside is his home, it hasn€™t stopped clubs enquiring about his availability, and in particular, one man doesn€™t seem to have taken the hint.

''I tried to sign him at Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid but he never came!€™€™ €“ Jose Mourinho, 2013.

After failing in two attempts to lure him to Chelsea and a third attempt at Inter Milan, Jose Mourinho entered the fray for him whilst at Real Madrid in 2010. Desperate to reconnect the midfield chemistry of the England captain with former Liverpool team-mate Xabi Alonso, he tried to persuade Gerrard to finally cut the cord of loyalty to his hometown club.

''I look at some players who get interest from clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona and they cause absolute wars to get out and get there. But that has never been me and, again, it just wasn۪t going to happen.۪۪ -Steven Gerrard, December 2013.

The relationship between Gerrard and Mourinho has soured somewhat this season, with the former brandishing the Chelsea manager an €˜idiot€™ this season, following a tense €˜judgement day€™ clash in April, which coincided with the infamous Gerrard slip. For the wily Portuguese manager, the only way he was going to be able to develop a working relationship with the Liverpudlian captain would be if he had accepted the England manager's position in 2007. As far as Gerrard's club career goes, no amount of money, prestige or potential trophies will sway him. He is truly the man who can't be moved.