Adelaide United chairman Greg Griffin has revealed the club failed in an ambitious late bid to bring Steven Gerrard to the Hyundai A-League.
The veteran midfielder is set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season and in January it was announced he will join Major League Soccer franchise LA Galaxy.
Luring the former England international to Australian football would have been an audacious coup to match Sydney FC’s signing of Alessandro Del Piero.
And while Adelaide contacted Liverpool to register their interest, it appears there was never a realistic chance they would succeed in securing the 34-year-old’s services.
“We spoke to Liverpool,” Griffin told South Australian radio station 5RTI, as reported by InDaily.
“We put out (an offer) for Steven Gerrard, it was just about half what he was offered at LA Galaxy. It was a short conversation because he signed with LA Galaxy the next day.
“Obviously a player like Steven Gerrard is a once-in-lifetime. It would have been a massive offer in Australian terms.
“We’re not going to pay $4 million to Tim Cahill for example, never, because we’ll never get a return on that investment. (But) you might get a return on a Steven Gerrard for half that figure.”
