Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has revealed that Beşiktaş were the first club to make him an offer when it was announced that he would be leaving the Reds.
Gerrard eventually joined MLS giants LA Galaxy after spending 17 years at Liverpool over the summer transfer window.
“The first offer came from Besiktas, then managed by Slaven Bilic. Monaco were next. They came in strong. Paris Saint-Germain were also very keen. David Moyes called my agent a couple of times, to see whether I would be interested in playing for him at Real Sociedad,” Gerrard said in his soon-to-be published autobiography ‘My Story’, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail.
Beşiktaş were active in the transfer market in pursuit of a central midfielder over the summer following injury to Tolgay Arslan and Veli Kavlak.
The Black Eagles also targeted fellow Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva but the deal fell through after Reds boss Brendan Rodgers decided to keep the Brazilian at the club following injury to Jordan Henderson.
There was one Liverpool player who left the club for Turkey over the summer as Lazar Markovic joined Fenerbahçe on a one-year loan.
Gerrard ended up not joining Beşiktaş but had he made the move to Istanbul he could have enjoyed a far better welcoming party that the one he received in Los Angeles.
These were the scenes when Ricardo Quaresma arrived at Istanbul Atatürk airport last month.
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