Manchester United legend Gary Neville has admitted that he attempted to convince Steven Gerrard to leave Anfield and join him at Old Trafford, but was met with a firm rejection from the Liverpool hero.
Both Neville and Gerrard will forever go down as legends at United and Liverpool respectively for their loyalty to their boyhood sides, but the Sky Sports pundit has revealed he still tried his luck.
The rivalry between Liverpool and United remains as fierce as ever, although the results have recently swung in Jurgen Klopp's favour, ending a period of dominance held by the Red Devils.
Despite the hatred amongst the two rivals, Neville has revealed that it didn't stop him trying to convince Liverpool's star man to leave.
United dominated the early 2000's and their talent made up a large part of an England squad that was known as the 'golden generation', but despite the heaps on talent within the national team, the Three Lions never managed to win an international trophy.
Although many stars such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and Neville made up the England team, top talent from other Premier League sides were also in and around the squad.
International breaks were a chance to escape domestic duties and focus on the national team, but Neville has revealed that he used the opportunity to try and convince certain England stars to leave their current clubs and sign for United.
Neville revealed on Sky Sports: "I think there was two or three times it happened with England with me, where I spoke to Alan Shearer during Euro 96, you know, I had a conversation with him.
"I was more junior at that time so I couldn't have a serious conversation with him. Definitely with Wayne Rooney we had a little chat, but just again, he's a younger player so you can't put too much pressure on.
"You know, with Stevie [Gerrard] it was a full on assault. Let's get him out of there. I want him out of there.
"To be fair, Stevie's answer was, he said 'my family and me would never be able to go back to Liverpool ever again'. It was a very short conversation.
"He was very loyal, Liverpool fans. Not as loyal I think when John Terry went round to his room, I think Terry got about ten minutes out of him, I got about 30 seconds."
Neville's efforts were unsuccessful, but as the former United captain referenced, Gerrard was extremely close to leaving Liverpool to join Chelsea.
Following a fierce backlash from the Liverpool fans, Gerrard stayed, but the reaction would have been far worse if it was United that he had contemplated joining.
Unfortunately for Gerrard, he never won the Premier League title and it remains the one club trophy that evaded him for his whole career.
Gerrard may have achieved the ultimate domestic crown at Chelsea or United, but the Liverpool legend wouldn't hold the connection the fans like he does today.
