Gerrard discusses Ferguson, almost joining Chelsea and his title hopes

Steven Gerrard has revealed that he was 'a bit gutted' when he heard that Alex Ferguson had described him as 'not a top, top player' in his autobiography, but insists he isn't losing any sleep over it.

“I had a letter off them (Man U) wanting to sign me on a 7 year deal when I was thirteen years of age.” he told Clare Balding in an interview that will air on BT Sport 1 this Saturday at 9pm.

“I’m a huge fan of Alex Ferguson and what he’s done in the game is fantastic," Gerrard continued. "I was generally a little bit gutted when I read that, the reaction of the papers, when he said I wasn’t a top, top player. But I won’t lose sleep over it, everyone is entitled to their opinion.”

The Reds' captain - who made his Liverpool debut 15 years ago this week - revealed that he turned Ferguson down again back in 2002. “He tried to sign me in early 2002/2003, he tried to sign me again to play for United, I obviously refused, so I can’t really take it to heart too much. But I’m a bit gutted because I’m a big fan of his.”

In the interview Gerrard also discussed his flirtations with Chelsea almost a decade ago. “It did turn my head, because big things were happening at Chelsea, they were spending huge amounts of money and at Liverpool at the time we were struggling and my relationship with Benitez was a bit up and down.”

Had the skipper joined Chelsea when the opportunity was there he would surely not still be waiting for his first Premier League winners medal, but he hasn't given up hope of fulfilling that dream with the Reds, perhaps even this season. “There’s none bigger than the Premier League, and that’s the one that eludes me" he reflected. 

"At the moment we’re doing really well, but we can’t get carried away, there’s still a lot of football to be played. I’d love to be in the position we’re in now with ten games to play, that would be a dream for me.”

Watch a video of Gerrard discussing Ferguson

Watch a video of Gerrard discussing Chelsea

The full interview will be screened on The Clare Balding Show, BT Sports 1 at 9pm on Saturday 30 Nov 2013.