Why Steven Gerrard disappeared: New life as a grandad at 45 and staying in Middle East after Saudi exit lowered Liverpool legend's profile - but now he says he's living with a 'void' ahead of Rangers return talks

When Steven Gerrard, soaking up the scenes of jubilation, wrapped his fingers around the Scottish Premiership title at the Ibrox four years ago, he must have thought it was the start of a long and fruitful career in management.

His Rangers side, claiming successive Old Firm derby wins over archrivals Celtic, went unbeaten in what was a record-breaking Scottish Premiership campaign, claiming 102 points and conceding just 13 goals across 38 matches.

The shortage of elite English coaches has been a key talking point over the last decade, especially these days with Newcastle's Eddie Howe and Burnley's Scott Parker the only two 'homegrown' Premier League managers following Graham Potter's dismissal from West Ham last month.

At the time, Gerrard's triumph with Rangers fed into the idea that the former Reds midfielder could be the next great English boss of the new generation, especially if it mirrored his long and impressive career as a player.

Some football fans even suggested that Gerrard could be the ideal successor to ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. But after an ill-fated spell at Aston Villa and a disappointing, albeit lucrative, two-year stint at Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ettifaq, Gerrard almost disappeared, choosing to take an extended period away from the dugout.

The Liverpool legend, widely regarded as one of the greatest ever footballers to play for the Anfield club, appeared to keep a low profile in the nine months after his Al-Ettifaq exit.

Linked with almost no managerial jobs, appearing to take on fewer punditry opportunities and generally staying out of the limelight while spending time with his family, Gerrard opted to take a break from the sport he had, until then, dedicated his entire life to.

And ultimately, who could blame him? The former England star had clearly taken to his new life in Saudi Arabia after penning his whopping £15.2million-a-year deal at Al-Ettifaq — and was no longer in the pressure cooker of coaching in the English game.

In many ways, taking charge of a Saudi Arabian club presented an ideal next step in Gerrard's managerial career. His time at Al-Ettifaq, which began in July 2023 — six months after Cristiano Ronaldo's world record £173m-a-year switch to Al-Nassr, may  have only lasted a couple of years before results turned sour, but it did provide the Reds icon with a new place to call home.

'I've really enjoyed the journey so far,' Gerrard told former England team-mate Rio Ferdinand on his podcast this week. 'Of course, I've had a couple of tough moments and lost my job at Aston Villa, which was really tough because I found the last six or seven games really tough because I felt like I couldn't pull it back. 

'It's frustrating when you're in that position. When you're doing your best, you're even doing more. You're working harder, you're doing more and you just can't pull it back because you know that the dressing room is maybe not going to help you pull it back. That was tough. (As for the) Saudi experience, I've loved it. I've loved it because I got the opportunity to really coach and learn.'

'Away from the spotlight,' Ferdinand aptly chimed in. 

Welcoming the opportunity of a new challenge, Gerrard needed no second invitation to embrace Saudi Arabia with open arms in July 2023.

Draped in traditional Middle Eastern attire, the Whiston-born manager jumped head first into the country's culture as he posed for photos at his unveiling, later doing the same with fellow former Reds captain Jordan Henderson after making him the club's marquee summer signing.

As the manager of Al-Ettifaq, he chose to reside in nearby westernised Bahrain with his family, rather than living in stricter Saudi Arabia. Nowadays, Gerrard and his family still rent the £10,000-per-month home on a private estate in the Hamala Village they lived in during his tenure at the Saudi Pro League club. 

The property features six large bedrooms, a tennis court, a swimming pool and a games room, located in a compound behind a high gate. 

Gerrard was also given a stunning villa in Dammam, where Al-Ettifaq are based, upon signing for the club — but only occasionally used it while choosing to rent in Bahrain.

Despite being out of a job in Saudi Arabia for almost nine months, Gerrard has continued to reside in the Middle East, with his family having grown accustomed to life out there.

According to The Sun, Gerrard's wife Alex, 43, regularly spends time at the Bahrain World Trade Centre in Manama, enjoying the occasional shopping spree at the wide range of designer outlets there, including Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Versace.

In an Instagram post last year, Alex called her new lifestyle in Bahrain a 'dream life'.  She has also been known to shop frequently at The Avenues, a lavish waterfront shopping centre, to get her fix of high-street brands such as H&M and Adidas. 

In terms of health and leisure, there are countless spas and salons available in Bahrain, with Gerrard previously given a free membership to the £5,000 Ritz-Carlton health club prior to his departure. 

His three youngest children — Lexie, 18, Lourdes, 13, and Lio 7 — are enrolled at Bahrain's most exclusive English language school, setting the couple back a costly £11,000 per year. 

Meanwhile, his eldest daughter Lilly gave birth to her first child in July with boyfriend Lee Byrne, the son of Irish mob boss Liam Bryne, 54, who was recently released from prison after serving jail time for his part in a weapons plot gone awry.

While Gerrard was preparing to become a grandfather for the first time, he was offered a rare opening — the chance to return to Rangers. For someone who had already spent six months away from the spotlight, the prospect of returning to a place where he had already enjoyed success and his family, like in the Middle East, would be welcomed, must have been a difficult proposal to turn down, however concrete.

With family at the forefront of his mind, Gerrard ultimately chose to leave multiple opportunities alone last summer.

'I've had five or six really interesting phone calls since I stopped in Saudi,' he revealed to Ferdinand. 'And I haven't been ready because I haven't got that team set around me. And the timing hasn't been right. My daughter's just had a baby. I've just become a granddad. I wasn't ready. I haven't got my staff ready.

'So unfortunately, them opportunities or them phone calls have come at the wrong time, if you like. But if the right call comes my way, the right club, the right challenge, and I've got my people set, which I will have at some point, I'll take that challenge on because it's in me. It's in me.' 

Maybe Gerrard now, in the wake of Rangers sacking Russell Martin at the weekend, feels it is the right time to return to the fast-paced, rewarding and brutally fatiguing world of football management.

Rangers are understood to have scheduled talks with Gerrard over a potential return to the Ibrox this weekend — but his family life in the Middle East and how that will be impacted by the appointment is believed to be on the agenda, as it was previously. 

When asked about the Rangers vacancy in an interview this week, Premier League legend Alan Shearer admitted that it will a huge challenge for whoever takes over and suggested that Gerrard may distance himself from the opportunity again for 'tax' reasons.

The Newcastle legend told Betfair: 'I don't know Steven's tax situation with him being back in the UK and he can only answer that. There is that 'never go back' saying but if he wants to get back to management, he knows what it's like up there, he's done it and been successful before. He's a huge name in football.

'I don't think Celtic are that great either. Hearts are top of the SPFL at the moment so that tells you that Celtic aren't a great team either.

'Steven, or whoever goes into that role may fancy their chances and say it's worth the opportunity and worth going up there to compete. Rangers are miles off it at the minute and it's no surprise that Russell lost his job.

'The fans were going mad up there and it's not nice to see because of the human behind it and at the end of it. That's what you have to think of but you also know the score when you go into management - if you don't win games, you'll get sacked.

'The Rangers job will be a brilliant one for whoever takes over.'

Despite the clear challenges that would come with the Rangers job, it feels the hunger and desire to return to the dugout is growing more and more by the day for Gerrard, if his comments to Ferdinand are anything to go by.

'When I stopped playing football, it was a big void for me,' he said. 'And even though I knew my body was ready to pack in, and feelings and blah, blah, blah, and I couldn't really be the player I wanted to be.  

'So, I was probably ready at the time. Missed it every single day. And I still miss it now as a player. And I qualified to do my badges when I went into my 30s. And I ended up getting my pro license. Went into the Liverpool's Academy. Enjoyed a lot of that. But it was the managing side of it that I enjoyed. The one-to-one motivating players. 

'Seeing that I could make a difference with a player to get more out of that individual player. Then I got the opportunity to go to Rangers and I loved it. Rangers, I felt like it was the perfect match. And it went on from there.'

Although Gerrard will never have another opportunity to relive his playing career, he could soon be faced with a return to football too tempting to turn down.