Steven Gerrard will go down as one of the greatest English footballers of all time, with 114 caps for his country – but the Liverpool icon didn’t always get on with his Three Lions team-mates
Steven Gerrard opened up on how the intense rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United affected relationships within the England squad.
The Anfield legend, who earned 114 caps for England, admitted that while he managed to build friendships with some team-mates on national duty, club rivalries made it difficult to connect with others – particularly two Manchester United stars.
Speaking at a Belfast event back in 2017, Gerrard discussed his post-retirement relationship with Rio Ferdinand, saying: “When you’re lining up in the tunnel against Rio and Gary Neville you want to do everything in your power to beat them – there’s hatred there, that’s exactly how it is.
“When you meet up for England at that time, you pretend you like them – but your career finishes, their career finishes and your friendship starts for real.
“I’ve got nothing but respect for Rio as a player, played for a top club all his life, he’s a good fella as well, I’m enjoying the role at BT [Sport] with him as well.”
Ferdinand echoed the sentiment in an interview with Times Magazine the following year, highlighting the negative impact of club rivalries on the national team. He said: “It overshadowed things. It killed that England team, that generation.
“One year we would have been fighting Liverpool to win the league, another year it would be Chelsea. So I was never going to walk into the England dressing room and open up to Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, John Terry or Joe Cole at Chelsea, or Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher at Liverpool because of the fear they would take something back to their club and use it against us.
“I didn’t realise that what I was doing was hurting England at the time. I was so engrossed, so obsessed with winning with Man United. Nothing else mattered.”
Former England manager, Gareth Southgate, also discussed the importance of putting club rivalries aside for the national team’s success in 2018. He said: “We have listened to some compelling interviews from Frank and Rio and Steven and we used that to say, ‘Okay, we have to make sure we put those club situations to one side.’
“I don’t think there is that intense rivalry between our top clubs that there was then. But this is a group that is young enough to be interested in doing a lot of things together.
“Most of them have come through the youth system with England together so they are used to being at St George’s together. That’s not a hardship for them. We are nothing to do with the past. The past can inform us and help us, but shouldn’t shape us.”
Gerrard represented England for 14 years at the World Cup and the Euros, but did not secure any titles. Despite his managerial stints with Rangers, Aston Villa and Al-Ettifaq, Gerrard is currently without a club.
However, the Mirror how he is considering a return to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership for the 2025/26 season. Only time will reveal if Gerrard will be back at Ibrox, with Russell Martin, Davide Ancelotti and Brian Priske also rumoured for the role.
