As a Liverpool icon, it won't come as a surprise that Steven Gerrard didn't much care for some of the Manchester United players that he competed against during his playing days.
However, the former Anfield captain's feelings towards a couple of United players went deeper than a footballing rivalry.
Per a recent report from the Liverpool Echo, via The Athletic, Gerrard had a genuine issue with former Red Devil's duo Fabio and Rafael.
The Brazilian twin brothers claimed four Premier League winners' medals between them during their time at Old Trafford. The first of those wins came at the expense of Liverpool, who United narrowly beat to the title in 2009. Gerrard, famously, never managed to capture a domestic championship during his 17-year run with the Merseyside club.
Of course, bad blood has long flowed both ways where United and Liverpool are concerned. With that said, Gerrard was so riled by Fabio and Rafael during their interactions on the pitch that he even vented about them to Wayne Rooney while on international duty.
Rooney found himself stuck in the middle of the situation. Despite being Gerrard's England colleague, he was also a teammate of Fabio and Rafael for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
"Wayne Rooney told us that Steven Gerrard hated us," revealed Rafael. "He said that Gerrard told him on international duty, ‘Those twins, they are p*****!’."
That reaction from the now-Rangers boss might seem strong, but when you bear in mind that Gerrard only managed to avoid defeat in three of his eight contests against the brothers, his frustration becomes a little more understandable.
Rafael can't point to any particular incident that might have angered Gerrard. He admits, though, that he wasn't shocked when Rooney passed on the comments.
"We never did anything to him but wear a different shade of red. I guess that’s all it takes.
"And to be honest, I understood what he meant. The feeling was mutual.”
Both brothers are currently still playing top-flight football. Rafael represents Basaksehir in Turkey, while Fabio turns out Nantes in France.
Given how Gerrard feels about the pair, it seems a late-career switch to Ibrox for either of the 31-year-old twins can safely be ruled out.
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