Steven Gerrard names the two England players he 'pretended to like' on international duty

Liverpool and England legend Steven Gerrard has revealed the two teammates he pretended to like while on international duty.

There are few rivalries within sport bigger than those between football clubs, as both players and fans bitterly anticipate meeting each other both on and off the pitch.

However, some players are forced to put their club rivalries aside when representing their country on international duty, and this is perhaps best seen in the infamous England "Golden Generation" team in the 2000s.

While speaking during a tour of the country back in 2017, Gerrard spoke about exactly this and revealed which specific players he had to pretend to like while representing the Three Lions on the international stage.

Despite an impressive team made up of the likes of Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, and Ashley Cole and many other England greats, the Three Lions failed to deliver an international trophy.

Although several reasons likely played a part in England falling short in this time, it is almost certain that a team made up of players from Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea will have struggled with tensions regarding their club rivalries.

And it appears that Gerrard confirmed exactly this while speaking in Belfast, as he confessed that, at the time, he held hatred for United pair Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville.

"When you're lining up against in the tunnel against Rio and Gary Neville you want to do everything in your power to beat them, there's hatred there, that's exactly how it is," he said via Belfast Live.

"When you meet up for England at that time, you pretend you like them, but your career finishes, their career finishes and your friendship starts for real.

Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand made 49 appearances together for England. (Image: Getty)

"I've got nothing but respect for Rio as a player, played for a top club all his life, he's a good fella as well."

Gerrard boasts an impressive 114 caps for his country, making him the fourth most capped player for England behind just Peter Shilton, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham.

During this time, the midfielder scored 21 goals across 14 years and eventually became captain before retiring from international football in 2014.