Steven Gerrard: 'I tried to convince Willian, Toni Kroos to join Liverpool'

Steven Gerrard has said that he tried to convince Willian and Toni Kroos to join Liverpool in the summers of 2013 and 2014.

The 35-year-old has revealed that Brendan Rodgers tried to use Gerrard's stature in the game to tempt footballers to join him at Anfield.

"I had an unofficial role at the club, trying to persuade some great players to join Liverpool. In 2013, the latest player in our sights was Willian, the Brazilian midfielder. I followed the usual routine when approaching a star player we wanted to sign. Instead of calling him directly I always sent a text," Gerrard told the Daily Mail.

"Our target in 2014 was ridiculously optimistic. Brendan asked me to take a crack at trying to talk Toni Kroos into signing for Liverpool. He smiled when I said we'd be pissing into the wind with this one.

"The German was on his way to winning the World Cup with his country and Real were the champions of Europe. But God loves a trier, and so I gave it a whirl."

Willian went on to join Chelsea, while Kroos opted to sign for Real Madrid after his World Cup triumph with Germany.