Steven Gerrard ready to quit Liverpool - with Man City plotting £40million move
Published 23:00 09/05/10 By Alan Nixon
Steven Gerrard is ready to wave farewell to Liverpool – with Manchester City making a record £40million bid for the Kop skipper.
Megabucks City’s Arab rulers have given the go-ahead for the capture of the summer and hope to agree a fee and speak to the England star as soon as possible.
Gerrard’s future has been in doubt because of the Anfield club’s financial troubles. City’s up-front money may be too much to refuse for the beleaguered owners.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez could reluctantly accept a sale if he is given assurances that he will get the funds to transform a squad that has missed out on the Champions League.
Benitez put on a bold front yesterday, insisting after the goalless draw at Hull: “If I stay, I’m not thinking about selling Gerrard or Torres.”
Hull 0-0 Liverpool: The Daily Mirror match report
But when Benitez was asked if Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres wanted to stay he admitted: “That’s a question for them.”
The final word will be with Gerrard, who is 30 in three weeks’ time and has been a Kop idol since his teens.
He would not have Europe’s elite competition at City but he could take on a new challenge and lead them to a title bid.
City are poised to make their bid formal in the next few days but their interest is already known at the top level and the super-rich outfit want to get a ‘marquee’ signing that will make the game take notice.
The title wannabes know Real Madrid are also lurking but fancy their chances of outbidding them.
