Missing out on the Leeds United job was one of the reasons Steven Gerrard ultimately decided to become the new manager of Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq.
That is according to a report from 90min, which notes that the Englishman had hoped to take over at one of the sides recently relegated from the Premier League.
Steven Gerrard has now been confirmed as the new boss of Al Ettifaq after initially rejecting the approach. And it seems that he made the u-turn after missing out on a couple of other jobs.
Gerrard had hoped to get Leeds job
According to a report from 90min, Gerrard had hoped to become the new manager of Leicester City or Leeds. And he made the decision to move to the Kingdom after learning that he would not be getting either role.
Leicester, of course, appointed Enzo Maresca to spearhead their potential promotion push. Meanwhile, The Athletic has suggested that our wait for a new manager is almost over – with Daniel Farke in line to be appointed imminently.
And there are likely to be plenty of Leeds fans who are pleased with the decision to target Farke over Gerrard.
Neither have managed to silence their doubters in the Premier League so far in their managerial careers. However, Farke has done a fantastic job in the Championship, winning promotion on two occasions.
Gerrard did a good job with Rangers, winning the Scottish Premiership and securing some famous results in the Europa League. However, his time at Aston Villa was very underwhelming.
He is a big name. And there is no doubt that Leeds would have probably been able to attract some of their transfer targets to the club because of the chance to work with Gerrard.
However, Leeds surely need to keep one eye on what happens if we do get promoted.
Farke is not necessarily the answer for that hurdle either. But unlike Gerrard, he has not been allowed to show what he can do in the Premier League when he has money to spend.
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