Steven Gerrard says he had an unofficial role at Liverpool while he was captain, and that it involved texting elite targets in an effort to bring them to Anfield. In his autobiography, he says he approached Willian in 2013 and also texted Toni Kroos, but neither was persuaded.
How Gerrard described the job
Gerrard's own explanation is plain enough. "I had an unofficial role at the club, trying to persuade some great players to join Liverpool," he said.
He also explained why he chose messages rather than phone calls. "Instead of calling him directly I always sent a text. It seemed more respectful and allowed the player to read my message at a time when it suited him best."
That is a fairly striking glimpse into how hands-on he was. It is one thing for a captain to be a leader on the pitch, and another for him to be acting as a personal recruiter in the middle of transfer conversations.
Why the two approaches did not land
The Liverpool effort on Willian came in 2013, while the club were speaking to his agent. Willian's answer was blunt: "I'm not sure Liverpool can win me the Champions League."
The Toni approach was even harder to sell. Gerrard said Real Madrid were preparing an offer to Bayern Munich, while Kroos was on his way to winning the World Cup with Germany and Madrid were the champions of Europe. "We both admired Toni Kroos immensely," Gerrard said. "I knew Real Madrid were gearing up to make Bayern Munich an offer and so I felt a bit awkward when I texted Kroos."
That is the interesting part of the story. Gerrard was not sending casual notes to fringe targets, he was trying to persuade two players with very serious options elsewhere. In both cases, the answer was no, and the reasons were clear in the quotes themselves.
Liverpool were not a hard club to sell in a broad sense, but the appeal was not enough on those occasions. Gerrard's autobiography shows him trying anyway, which makes the anecdote more revealing than a polished transfer summary. He gave it a whirl, and Chelsea ended up taking Willian instead.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
