Liverpool legend John Aldridge has branded Steven Gerrard's critics as "foolish".

He wrote in the Sunday World: "Gerrard came close to joining Jose Mourinho at Chelsea in 2004 and 2005 and I'm sure he would have won a few Premier League medals with them if he had walked away from the club and joined a team that were forcing their rivals into submission thanks to their sugar daddy owner.

"In the end, Stevie just couldn't bring himself to sell his soul to the highest bidder and I know for a fact that he has no regrets about his decision. Winning the Champions League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the UEFA Cup with Liverpool meant more than anything he might have collected in a Chelsea shirt. That's the way he sees it.

"The truth is that this is a Liverpool lad who had lived the dream, played for the club he has supported all his life and turned out to be a legend whose legacy will live on for years to come.

"Those who still snipe at him are making themselves look foolish in my eyes because everyone who matters in this game has nothing but praise for a player who has covered himself in glory for a variety of reasons for so long."