Liverpool to reject Chelsea's 32-million pound offer for Gerrard

Jul 5, 2005, 9:46 GMT

Liverpool, Britain - European champions Liverpool said on Tuesday that they will reject a 32-million pound (56.3-million dollar) offer from Chelsea for their captain Steven Gerrard.

Chelsea stepped in with what would be a British record transfer fee after talks between Liverpool and Gerrard over a new contract broke down on Monday morning, but Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry is hopeful the 25-year-old will stay at the club.

"I can confirm we have had a bid from Chelsea and that it will be rejected by us," Parry told the BBC.

Parry and chairman David Moores met with Gerrard on Monday night to try to resolve the matter, and Liverpool reportedly offered him a new deal worth 100,000 pounds per week. The midfielder said he would sleep on the offer.

Gerrard, who was instrumental in helping Liverpool win the Champions League in May, has two years of his contract to run at Anfield.

He almost joined Chelsea last summer, but, in the wake of the club's triumph over AC Milan in the final, he said he would be staying on.

However, with contract talks having stalled, Real Madrid have confirmed their interest in him, while Chelsea are the first to make a formal offer.

Should Gerrard play in Liverpool's opening Champions League match on July 13, he would be cup-tied for the rest of the competition, if he were to leave Anfield.

On Monday night, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez reiterated his desire to keep Gerrard at the club.

"We recognise that Steven is a key player for us. He is a special player, a match-winner, and there are very few of those around," he said.

"We don't need more money - we don't need to sell Stevie. We have a clear idea of who we want and the players want to come here and play for the European champions. Maybe we need a little but not too much... we don't need a lot more money. The fans need to understand that.

"My idea is that we want him to stay - that's what the chief executive and the board all want. We will talk with the player, the agent and we will try to find a solution. We will try right until the end."