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Steven Gerrard will manage player who 'refused to play' for Man United boss Erik ten Hag

Steven Gerrard will manage player who 'refused to play' for Man United boss Erik ten Hag

Steven Gerrard has taken the reins at Al Ettifaq, signing a two-year deal.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Steven Gerrard's Al Ettifaq squad includes a player who once refused to play for Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.

Gerrard has been confirmed as the latest household name to move to Saudi Arabia, penning a two-year contract with Al Ettifaq, who finished seventh in the Saudi Pro League last season.

It's already been reported that he wants to bring in Jordan Henderson and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to continue the trend of huge additions to the Middle Eastern country.

But Gerrard's side already have a plethora of overseas players in their ranks, including former Borussia Monchengladbach, Ajax, Napoli and Eintracht Frankfurt star Amin Younes.

The 29-year-old came through the ranks at Gladbach before playing for Ten Hag at Ajax and ended up courting controversy.

In 2017/18, Ajax were winning 4-1 against Heerenveen at the Johan Cruyff Arena but Younes, formerly of Borussia Monchengladbach, allegedly did not want to come on for the last few minutes.

Footage showed him on the bench and refraining from putting on his kit while rolling his eyes when Ten Hag gestured to him.

At the time the midfielder had already had a deal signed to join Napoli, where he played 27 times across two seasons.

A furious Ten Hag made the call to exile Younes from the first-team and he was sent to Jong Ajax, the Amsterdam club's second team. He didn't play for Ajax again.

“We still have six games to play and I only want players who are 100% motivated," Ten Hag said, as per Football Oranje.

"A lot has happened with and around Amin during this season, that will undoubtedly play a role.

"But he does not give us the feeling that his attention is completely with Ajax. Marc and I informed him today that he is training the remaining weeks of this season with Jong Ajax.”

Image: Getty
Image: Getty

Last year, Younes fired back and refuted the comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo, saying "the context is totally different than many people tell".

He moved to Al Ettifaq in January 2022 before being loaned out to FC Utrecht in August. He still has a contract with the Saudi side until 2024.

Featured Image Credit: NOS

Topics: Steven Gerrard, Ajax, Erik Ten Hag, Liverpool, Manchester United, Saudi Pro League, Saudi Arabia

Josh Lawless
Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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