Liverpool's captain may be renowned for his loyalty and devotion to the club cause these days, but Gerrard twice came extremely close to signing for their arch rivals. Following a trophyless season in 2003/04 and the resignation of manager Gerard Houllier, Gerrard admitted that he was unhappy at the club's lack of recent progress and seriously considered the possibility of moving when Roman Abramovich tabled a £20 million bid. Following discussions with new coach Rafael Benitez, Gerrard decided to stay and went on to enjoy the greatest night of his professional career in 2005 when his determination almost single-handedly brought Liverpool back from a halftime deficit of 3-0 against AC Milan to win the Champions League final. Shortly after, Gerrard refused a £100k per week extension on his contract and Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry stated his belief that the club had 'lost' Gerrard to Chelsea. Following death threats from Liverpool supporters against Gerrard's family and the intervention of his father, Paul, the player decided to reject Chelsea's offer and signed a new contract with Liverpool the following day. Whether it was the right decision remains to be seen: Liverpool never again managed to repeat the glory of that night in Istanbul, but Gerrard did go on to make a number of high-profile blunders in games against Chelsea, most recently slipping to gift the ball to Demba Ba to score, killing Liverpool's hopes of title success last season.
28-year old English writer with a borderline obsessive passion for films, videogames, Chelsea FC, incomprehensible words and indefensible puns. Follow me on Twitter if you like infrequent outbursts of absolute drivel.
