Steven Gerrard Becomes Fourth-Highest-Paid Manager in the World
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard's salary at Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq has been revealed at a staggering £15.2million a year.
The midfielder moved to the Saudi club despite previous agreements falling through, and has now signed a three-year deal with the Saudi Pro League club.
Gerrard is one of many high-profile players and managers to make the switch to the Middle East in recent months, with Saudi clubs offering eye-watering salaries to European stars since the £172m per year signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in January.
After short managerial spells at Scottish Premiership side Rangers and Premier League outfit Aston Villa, Gerrard's £300k a week salary at the Saudi side would have undoubtedly been a factor in his decision to move.
According to The Sun, the former Aston Villa manager now sits as the fourth highest paid manager in the world, just behind Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp at £16m, Pep Guardiola at £20m, and Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone with an impressive £30m.
On speaking about his reasons for the move, Gerrard claimed that he 'got a real family feeling' and that the move 'needs to be right for my family first and foremost'.
'I think the football project needs to be ambitious, it needs to be for the right reasons, and then of course you need to feel secure with the contract, but this comes at the very end.'
After a failed spell at Aston Villa, Gerrard will be looking to improve his managerial statistics at Al-Ettifaq, as the side have not won the title since 1987.
The 43-year-old manager will be hoping to rival current title holders Al-Ittihad, who have recently signed 2022 Ballon d'Or-winning striker, Karim Benzema on a free transfer.
Since signing to the Saudi club, Gerrard has already overseen his first pre-season session as manager, and is due to lead a friendly against Croatian side NZ Varazdin.
The former midfielder was dismissed by Premier League side Aston Villa at the start of the 2022-23 season, after winning just two of their opening 12 games.
Following his dismissal, former Arsenal manager Unai Emery took over the Villans and led them to a seventh place finish which led them to Europa Conference League qualification.
Steven Gerrard is widely-regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, racking up over 500 appearances for Liverpool.
The Saudi club Al-Ettifaq have set their sights on Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson to be one of the first signings under Gerrard's management, on a contract of £700k per week.
While no formal offer has been submitted to the club, Henderson is one of many top targets for Saudi Pro League clubs this summer.
Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha is also on Al-Ettifaq's wishlist this summer, and could be joining the likes of Real Madrid's Karim Benzema and Wolverhampton's Ruben Neves at rival Saudi clubs.
Gerrard's new home will be based in Saudi Arabia's fourth-biggest city of Dammam, where the football club is based.
Saudi owners are hoping that Gerrard's new post will be enough to convince more British players to make the move to the Gulf state this summer.
Henry
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