Danny Murphy believes his old team-mate Steven Gerrard has gone to Saudi Arabia to improve his coaching - and NOT for the lucrative riches on offer.
Gerrard, 43, was appointed as the new manager of Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq on Monday - his first role since being sacked by Aston Villa nine months ago. He turned down the chance to move to the club last month but has since performed a U-Turn ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
The ex-Liverpool midfielder has received backlash from some supporters on social media for making the move to the Middle East, having been linked with a return to management in the Championship. However, Murphy believes it's a job that could benefit Gerrard's coaching style in the long run.
"I spoke to him briefly when he was deciding the first time a few weeks ago," Murphy revealed on talkSPORT. "He refused the job a couple of weeks ago...
"It's ludicrous in some ways to talk about it but he was wanting a football project that he knew he could have some sort of benefit from and actually learn something and actually improve his coaching and get back to work if you like.
"When he turned it down my instinct was that he's gone, 'there's an opportunity over here', which he thinks is going to be better for his long-term managerial career, which would make sense, forget finances.
"Because obviously, if you were to do a great job in the Championship for example and get a promotion, that's going to go on your CV. Whereas if you do well out in Saudi, it's kind of like [it doesn't mean anything], and if you do badly it doesn't really mean anything.
"So, maybe that opportunity didn't materialise, maybe they did just throw more money at it. My understanding of Steven generally is that he wants to succeed in everything he does and although we're all tempted by extra dough, he's got plenty of dough."
Simon Jordan also joined in the debate and slammed Gerrard for his decision. He said: "If you want to make a football decision that is going to take you on a journey that will make you a very successful manager and you back yourself, then you don't need to go to Dubai or the Middle East or wherever he's [Gerrard] going.
"In this instance, this is not a football decision, he's not going to advance as a coach, he's not going to enhance his reputation amongst those eyes that might look at him and go, 'oh look at what you did in the Saudi league'. They're not going to suggest that a Premier League job is going to come available as a result of that, so it's a financial decision."
