After originally saying he would turn down an offer from Saudi club, Al-Ettifaq, former Liverpool star, Steven Gerrard has taken on the role of head coach. The decision received its fair share of criticism, so the Scouse legend has explained the reasoning behind his choice.
Since being sacked by Aston Villa in October 2022, Steven Gerrard has been without a job. Despite originally declaring that he would turn down the offer to join the Saudi Pro-League, he was announced at the start of July as the new head coach of Al-Ettifaq. The Englishman signed a contract for two seasons, which no doubt comes with a lucrative salary.
This drew some criticism, and in an interview, the former Liverpool star explained the decision he made to go and join the team.
"I think the club already has an outstanding culture, it already has fantastic support ...the board are all aligned, they are all ambitious, very good people who give a lot of time and effort into the club so I want to be part of that culture", he declared.
"I think the club has a lot of good people who represent the club from the board down. When I went down to Saudi I got a real family feel, they made me feel extremely welcome", he said.