Gerrard: Real Madrid wanted me to force my way out of Liverpool Real Madrid Had the chance to move to Los Blancos

Steven Gerrard has revealed how Real Madrid wanted him to force his way out of Liverpool in order to join them.

The midfielder was the subject of interest from Jose Mourinho's Los Blancos in 2010 but instead he stayed at Anfield for another five years.

"I think if all the Chelsea stuff didn't happen and Mourinho, when he came for me around 2010, maybe you look back and think: imagine playing for Madrid for a year or two," Gerrard said on Jamie Carragher's The Greatest Game podcast.

"Imagine going and playing for Mourinho in the Champions League - that would've been an unbelievable experience. Of course it would. But it didn't happen.

"Basically, Madrid wanted me to cause a war at Liverpool to get out. That was the only way that could've happened."

Gerrard's Liverpool faced Real Madrid in the last 16 of the 2008/09 Champions League, prompting Raul Gonzalez to ask about his future.

"The captain I remember you telling me about on the pitch. Raul - we beat them 4-0 and he said afterwards, "Will you join?"" Carragher recalled in the podcast.

"I'm not sure if it was a full tapping [up] but there was some kind of little... There was a bit of flirtation. It wasn't major," Gerrard replied.

"I think I had a couple of options throughout my career to go to Real Madrid, but I resisted temptation because of the big connection I had with my hometown club," Gerrard said in 2014.