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Steven Gerrard has broken his silence over Sir Alex Ferguson’s jibes – by revealing the Manchester United boss offered him a SEVEN-YEAR contract.

Ferguson suggested the Liverpool star was “not a top, top player”in his recent book, but, far from not rating the England midfielder, the Scot tried to sign him on two ­separate occasions.

And the first time came when the player, regarded as one of the best in Premier League history, was just 13 years old, with Ferguson so desperate to sign him he promised a mind-boggling contract for a kid.

Gerrard produced his shocking revelation tonight on BT Sport’s Clare Balding Show, explaining: “I had a letter off them, wanting to sign me on a seven-year deal when I was 13 years of age.

“Then he tried to sign me again in early 2002/2003. I obviously refused, so I can’t really take it to heart too much.

“I was genuinely a little bit gutted when I read his comments, when he said I wasn’t a top, top player. But I won’t lose sleep over it – everyone is entitled to their opinion.

“I’m a huge fan of Alex Ferguson and what he’s done in the game is fantastic, that’s the reason why he sold that many copies in the first week.”

(Image: AFP)

Gerrard opened his heart on the revealing BT programme, insisting he never considered United an option, even as a teenager. But he did admit to being tempted by Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea approach.

“It did turn my head, because big things were happening at Chelsea,” he said.

“They were spending huge amounts of money and, at Liverpool at the time, we were struggling and my relationship with (Rafa) Benitez was a bit up and down.”

The midfielder’s biggest regret is the lack of chances he’s had to win the title with Liverpool, but, with Brendan Rodgers inspiring an Anfield revival, he is still hoping he can win the one domestic trophy to evade his grasp.

“There’s none bigger than the Premier League and that’s the one that eludes me. But I’d love to be in the position we’re in now with 10 games to play. That would be a dream for me.”

For that to happen Rodgers will need his biggest stars, such as Gerrard, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, to be fit for the whole season, but there was bad news last night.

Sturridge is still struggling with an ankle ligament problem that will keep him out of the line-up for Hull tomorrow.