Steven Gerrard shares why he really respects Evangelos Marinakis 12 years from special gesture

Add as preferred source on Google

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has grabbed the headlines when it comes to the Premier League in recent seasons.

Marinakis oversaw a remarkable promotion to the Premier League during the 2021/22 campaign and then announced Forest wouldn’t simply make the numbers up.

Marinakis hired Mark Clattenburg as a referee analyst following a series of high-profile errors from match officials, and that didn’t go down well.

Gary Neville was banned from the City Ground last season, and it’s fair to say that the Sky Sports pundit won’t be on any Christmas card list compiled by Marinakis any time soon.

Marinakis is often made out to be the bad guy when it comes to most things Forest-related, but today marks the anniversary of a very fine gesture towards one of the Premier League’s best-ever midfielders.

• READ MORE: How much Douglas Luiz will earn at Forest if he signs

Steven Gerrard sends message to Evangelos Marinakis

It’s 12 years to the day since Marinakis offered a glimpse of what type of man he is when he made a stunning gesture to Gerrard.

As one of Gerrard’s iconic goals came against Olympiacos, the Greek side were chosen as the opponents for the former Liverpool legend’s testimonial match.

Liverpool won the game 2-0 at Anfield with past stars such as Robbie Fowler and Jamie Carragher making appearances but it was the gesture that Marinakis made that remains with Gerrard.

He’s posted a message to the Forest owner on social media today that reads: “12 years ago the Nottingham Forest owner put £100k from his own pocket in our city charity…Some man!”

Marinakis will continue to flex Forest ambition

Forest could sign Douglas Luiz in the coming days and Marinakis is showing no sign of standing still when it comes to the club and their place in the Premier League food chain.

Marinakis wants Forest to be back in European competition and he will get to witness that this season after a seventh-place finish in last season’s table.

The Greek owner knows what it takes to be successful at football clubs and it would appear, based on these Gerrard comments, that his heart is actually in the right place too.

Forest fans will continue to throw their weight behind Marinakis and perhaps this grand gesture will conveniently avoid the attention of fans of other clubs, most notable Crystal Palace and Tottenham supporters.