Steven Gerrard has knocked back claims that footballers are moving to the Saudi Pro League just for money, insisting they have all been sold on a vision.

The Liverpool legend took over as manager of Al Ettifaq in the summer and he has already landed the likes of Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Dembele and Jack Hendry for his squad.

Some players have been criticised for their decision to move to Saudi, with the financial gain being touted as the main reason for their transfer.

But ex-Rangers manager Gerrard insists money was not on the agenda when he persuaded his targets to join him for the Saudi Pro League journey.

He told the official website: “I think I've seen it with China and I've seen it with different leagues where there's financial power.

“They think people want to just come here for money, or at the back end of their career for the last time, they can earn big money. That certainly wasn’t in any of the conversations I had with any of my players.

“You know they want to share a vision; they want to share a dream that we can go and achieve some special things together. I don't get involved in the financial side of deals, we focus on the football, and we talk about the football.

“All the players that we went for, we got them done. That has been the most positive thing for me, that we have got a good group of players that all want to improve individually.

"They understand that the team has been probably underachieving in previous years. You know we're on the same page in terms of what work needs to be done for us to move up the positions in the league.”

Gerrard also expects further transfer business in January and he has urged fans to get excited.

He added: “I think all fans, all players, should be extremely excited because it's only going to get better, stronger - and I don't think they need to hear it from me.

"I think it's clear that Saudi is on everyone's lips, it's on everyone’s mind, because of the growth, the investment and the standard of the players, the skill sets and the talent that's arriving in such a short space of time.”