Jurgen Klopp has revealed that it took little convincing to get Steven Gerrard on board for Liverpool's end-of-season friendly in Sydney next month.
The Anfield legend is to return to the Reds' fold for the exhibition match against A-League side Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium on May 24, linking up with the likes of fellow ex-pros Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Steve McManaman.
Klopp is excited to have Gerrard in his squad for the match, coming three days after the Premier League season ends, which has been arranged as part of the club's upcoming 125th anniversary.
"If somebody would have told me a few years ago that I would be the manager of Steven Gerrard, I would have said 'Yes!' It's fantastic," he told the club's official website. "The best thing you could have seen was the eyes of Stevie when I told him - or asked him, actually, what he would think about it.
"'You want me to play?!' I thought I would have to convince him... he said 'Yes, of course, when?' He is a 100% football player and of course a 100% LFC player. He is really looking forward to it, and I think the same.
"It will not be the longest preparation for Gerrard for the game I've ever done, I would say; maybe I'll use his experience, not give him too much wrong advice and let him enjoy the game! I'm really looking forward for my players to play again with him, and for the people to see him again in an LFC shirt. It's a really nice thing."
Gerrard represented Liverpool 710 times before bowing out in 2015 for a short spell in Major League Soccer, while Carragher, Agger and McManaman have a combined total of 1,333 appearances between them.
Daniel Lewis
