Steven Gerrard has admitted he was "very shocked" to be linked with the vacant Everton job last month and claimed it was never a possibility that he would take over.
The Blues were left reeling at the beginning of June after Carlo Ancelotti confirmed a surprise departure from the club, announcing a return to Real Madrid instead.
That begun a 29-day managerial search for the club as many names from across the world were linked with the vacancy at Goodison Park.
One of those was the former Liverpool midfielder, currently in charge at Rangers, but he has ruled out there ever being a chance he would have considered the role if there was any interest.
Gerrard told ESPN : "I was very shocked and surprised that my name was linked to the job. I don't know where it came from, whether it was paper talk or if there was any truth in it, I'm not sure.
"[Managing Everton] is never a possibility as far as I'm concerned."
After a long search for a new boss, Rafa Benitez was appointed at the end of June and has already begun shaping his squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.
The Spaniard is the first man to manage both Everton and Liverpool since the 19th century and Gerrard thinks the situation of his former boss is very different to his own when leading the Blues becomes an option.
"Rafa wasn't born in the city, he's not a red through-and-through and he never played against Everton for 20 years and competed against them, so I think it's a very different situation [to mine]," Gerrard added.
"Rafa is his own man and will make his own professional decisions, so there's no surprise that he wanted to get back in the Premier League at a big club and have the opportunity to compete against all the top teams in the league, so I wasn't very shocked and surprised at all in all honesty."
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