Steven Gerrard admits he was ‘surprised and shocked’ that Rafa Benitez ever took the Everton job and risked his LFC legacy | OneFootball

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Empire of the Kop

·22 January 2022

Steven Gerrard admits he was ‘surprised and shocked’ that Rafa Benitez ever took the Everton job and risked his LFC legacy

Article image:Steven Gerrard admits he was ‘surprised and shocked’ that Rafa Benitez ever took the Everton job and risked his LFC legacy

Steven Gerrard has spoken on Rafa Benitez’s initial decision to join Everton and the club’s recent call to sack him, in his Aston Villa press conference.

Our former captain faces our Merseyside rivals in what will be his second return to the city as a manger, since taking over at the Birmingham-based club.


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During his pre-match press conference, the topic of his former Anfield boss came up and there were certainly some strong opinions shared by our former No.8 to the reporters present.

The 41-year-old said: ‘I’m disappointed for Rafa because obviously I’ve got a relationship and I’ve got an awful lot of respect for him.

‘I have to be honest, I thought it was a unique appointment at the time.

‘I was surprised and shocked that Rafa wanted to go and have a go at that job.

‘With his legacy and his relationship with Liverpool, that was a surprise.

‘Obviously it hasn’t worked out for whatever reasons.

‘You’d have to be inside the club to know why, which is none of my business’.

Due to the quality of job he provided at Goodison Park, it does appear for many that the Spaniard hasn’t affected his legacy with our club but there is also a group of fans very upset that he ever chose to manage our local rivals.

It’s clear that the man who lifted the European and FA Cup under the stewardship of the former Real Madrid boss wasn’t the biggest fan of his decision to tarnish his Liverpool legacy.

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