Social media has been flooded with tributes to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard after he confirmed his decision to hang up his boots on Thursday, as it should be. Love him or hate him, Gerrard will be remembered as one of the Premier League's best midfielders and as one of Liverpool's best captains.
But that could have been very different. The possibility of a move to Chelsea was something every Liverpool fan feared once they came down from the high of Istanbul, but in proving his loyalty to the club and opting to stay put he cemented his place in Anfield folklore.
And it turns out it wasn't just Chelsea that Gerrard refused, as Jamie Carragher has told Talksport's Drivetime show that Real Madrid wanted to sign the England midfielder, and that Raul was sent to personally extend the invitation after Los Blancos were well beaten at Anfield in the Champions League.
We beat Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield and Raul came up and asked if he’d go to Real Madrid in that summer, so that is how strong the feeling was from Real Madrid – the actual captain asking if he’d sign!
I obviously never wanted him to go, but my advice to Stevie was there is only two clubs you’d go to – and that’s the Spanish giants.
My advice [was] if you ever want to take your chance abroad you can always come back, as Ian Rush did when he went to Juventus, but if Stevie ever went to Chelsea he’d never have been allowed back – I wouldn’t have allowed him back!
You can see exactly what would have become of Gerrard if he had decided to leave for Chelsea by looking at how Liverpool fans now regard Fernando Torres, compared to Luis Suarez.
Torres was adored by The Kop, but after his move to Chelsea he became a figure of hate and relentless mockery. When Suarez moved to Barca, yes you got the odd muppet burning his jersey on Twitter, but he is regarded as a legend, and will be showered with love anytime he does return to the city.
But Gerrard went one further and stayed at the club until it became a case of him leaving the continent to secure playing time, despite the lure of Real Madrid knowing full well that he still would have been regarded highly back home. And that won't be forgotten.
