The former Liverpool midfielder was heavily linked with a controversial transfer to Chelsea in 2004 before being persuaded to stay at Anfield

Steven Gerrard has opened up on how close he came to joining Chelsea, thanks to the lure of playing under Jose Mourinho.

The Liverpool legend, and now Rangers manager, was linked with a switch to the Blues in 2004 and again the following year, but eventually rejected the chance to move to Stamford Bridge.

When asked about the whole episode, Gerrard admitted he regretted the way the transfer saga was blown out of proportion at the time, but revealed he was extremely interested in a move to west London.

“I regret the little bit of flirting back then and how that all blew up," Gerrard told Gary Neville on Sky Sports Soccer Box.

"The fact is I didn’t know whether I was coming or going with Rafa at the time. Rafa was having conversations with me like ‘I know your agent is talking to Real Madrid and Chelsea’.

"I got a paranoid feeling at the time that Rafa would have taken money to try and build Liverpool on.

“Chelsea bid £37.5 million. At the time, massive amounts of dough but what would you get for that now?”

Source: https://www.wizkidblogger.com/2020/06/chelsea-375m-bid-confirmed-by-steven.html