Djibril Cissé has announced his former teammate, Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, will miss the testimonial game organised by the former France international. Cissé’s testimonial will be held at Auxerre’s Stade de l’Abbé-Deschamps next Tuesday. The match will see an AJ Auxerre Legends XI – coached by current AJA manager Christopher Pélissier and club legend Guy Roux – play against Cissé All-Stars. Arsène Wenger will coach the latter. Several legends from the French game are set to take part, such as Claude Makélélé, Jay-Jay Okocha, Florent Malouda, William Galles, Robert Pires or Florent Sinama-Pongolle.

However, arguably the most anticipated guest of all in Gerrard is not going to take part in the testimonial. Cissé announced on social media that the former England international won’t be at Auxerre over “professional reasons“, which may mean Gerrard is back on the hunt for a coaching gig. “I’m very disappointed, but my respect for my captain comes first. What we experienced together in Istanbul 20 years ago will pass above all else.”

Cissé and Gerrard both won the 2005 Champions League final against Milan, a game mostly considered as the greatest European ever when Liverpool wiped out a 3-goal deficit to defeat Carlo Ancelotti’s Rossoneri. Cissé eventually scored his penalty in the shoot-out.

Tezz | Bastien Horse