STEVEN GERRARD last night confirmed he has rejected an offer to become a manager in the Saudi Pro League.
The Liverpool legend has been out of a job since being sacked by Aston Villa in October of last year after just 11 months in charge.
Steven Gerrard looked set to join Al-Ettifaq
Villa had been on a dismal run under Gerrard’s stewardship, winning just two of their opening 12 Premier League games.
But speaking to Channel 4 while on punditry duty for England‘s European qualifier against North Macedonia, Gerrard said he is waiting for the right role before he returns to management.
He said: “I was invited over there [Saudi Arabia] to look at a potential offer, which I did.
“But, as we stand right now, I won’t be taking that offer up.”
The former Rangers manager looked close to sealing a deal to manage Saudi side Al-Ettifaq when he was pictured at their training ground last week.
Gerrard would have been following in the footsteps of a number of stars that have joined the Saudi league this summer.
Karim Benzema became the first major player to emulate former Real Madrid strike partner Cristiano Ronaldo when he joined the Saudi League this summer.
Benzema joined Al-Ittihad on a contract thought to be worth £342million and the life changing sums of money being offered by Saudi clubs do not look set to stop any time soon.
Reuben Neves is the latest Premier League player that looks set to join the league as Al-Hilal and Wolves agreed a £47m fee.
Chelsea also look set to continue their summer clearout with Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech all looking set to swap West London for Saudi Arabia.
But the appointment of Gerrard would have represented a change in tack for the Saudi League.
Gerrard would have been the first high-profile manager to join the list of high-profle players in Saudi Arabia this summer.
As it stands, former Wolves and Tottenham manager Nuno Esperito Santo is one of the only recognisable managers currently in the Saudi Pro-League.
Esperito Santo manages Al-Ittihad and looks set to manage Karim Benzema, N’golo Kante and Hakim Ziyech next season.
