Steven Gerrard Heading to Saudi Arabia?

The latest summer link to the Saudi Pro League involves none other than Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard.

According to Mohamed Yossry of Reuters,

"“Al-Ettifaq made an offer to Gerrard. He welcomed the idea, but asked for time to study the offer.”"

Gerrard’s most recent managerial stint was at Aston Villa where he was sacked in October. Gerrard’s reign saw mixed results and ultimately a poor start to the 2022-23 campaign led to his demise. Gerrard of course got the Villa job on the back of winning Rangers’ first Scottish Premiership in 10 years.

When Gerrard first got into management, his strong link to Liverpool Football Club pipped him as a future successor to Jurgen Klopp. This prophecy grew more uncertain after his lack of success at Aston Villa, yet the door had not been shut. An Anfield return for the former club captain would still be a dream move. Besides, Liverpool is still a few years away from thinking about life without Jurgen Klopp.

Gerrard was also rumored to be under consideration for the Leicester City and Leeds United jobs after they were both relegated from the Premier League. Perhaps, this would’ve been a step in the right direction if he were able to bring Premier League football back to either of these clubs. However, it seems increasingly likely that he will chase the Middle Eastern money ahead of any opportunity in England.

The SPL isn’t messing around this summer, with 35-year-old Karim Benzema and his compatriot N’golo Kante both making moves to Saudi Arabia for reported annual salaries of €200M and €100m respectively. Lionel Messi was linked to €500M per season deal before joining MLS side Inter Miami.

No deal has been finalized and Gerrard still may be weighing his options. A move to Al-Ettifaq will be lucrative but will surely kill off any hope he has of becoming Liverpool manager in the near future.