Steven Gerrard left old foe Gary Neville in stitches after being asked which member of Manchester United 's famous Class of '92 he would most like to slap.
During a hilarious question and answer session between the two on Gary Neville's The Overlap YouTube channel, the Liverpool legend failed to name one single player, instead asking: "How many slaps can I have?" Gerrard's response had Neville - who joined brother Phil, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt in the illustrious group of United academy graduates from 1992 - erupting in laughter, replying: "All at me as well?"
As the pair composed themselves, Gerrard made sure there was no hard feelings. "No listen, to be honest with you, I'm not just saying this - we were obviously massive rivals when we played and all that - but all the lads, I got on with them for England," the Aston Villa boss, currently enduring a difficult period and letting rip at his players after their last match, explained.
"People will maybe not believe that and think it but once we obviously went past day three and four, and we started talking to each other, I normally got on with all of you, didn't I?"
While the two former players spent over a decade as rivals for their clubs, with Liverpool and United battling it out in the Premier League and other cup competitions, their camaraderie is not the first time sign of a healthy relationship off the pitch. In fact, Neville even tried to convince Gerrard to join him at Old Trafford, despite the intense rivalry.
As United dominated the England setup in the early 2000s, with the likes of Beckham, Scholes and Rio Ferdinand making up the squad, Neville and his teammates attempted to lure a number of big-name players to the red side of Manchester while they were on international duty.
"There were two or three times it happened, with England with me," Neville revealed to Sky Sports in January. "I spoke to Alan Shearer during Euro 96, I had a conversation with him but I was more a junior at that time so I couldn't have a serious conversation with him. Definitely with Wayne Rooney, had a little chat, he was a younger player so you can't put too much pressure on.
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"With Stevie [Gerrard] it was a full-on assault, let's get him out of there! To be fair Stevie's answer was '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. John Terry [of Chelsea ] probably got about ten minutes out of him and I got about 30 seconds."
Although a move away from Anfield would never materialise, Gerrard still harbours a level of respect for United, naming star Bruno Fernandes as one of the modern-day Premier League players he would most like to play alongside.
"[First] Mohamed Salah. I love Bruno Fernandes, you [Neville] might not agree with that but I really like him," Gerrard affirmed. " Kevin de Bruyne for sure; 100 per cent I think he's one of the best in the world right now. Defensive wise, I think Virgil [Van Dijk] is just out of this world."
