Everton were forced into looking for a new manager after Carlo Ancelotti left the club to join Real Madrid at the end of last season.
Several names were vetted, considered and negotiated with, but eventually, the Toffees decided to bring in former Liverpool manager Benitez as their new man at the helm.
Some Everton fans were not happy with the Spaniard’s appointment but Gerrard accepts that his former manager at Liverpool decided to move to the Blue half of Merseyside.
He pointed out that Benitez is not as steeped in the history of the Merseyside rivalry as he was and never competed against Everton for two decades.
Gerrard did concede that he was left shocked at rumours linking him with the Everton managerial post.
The Rangers boss stressed that him becoming the Everton manager is never going to be a possibility.
Asked if he was surprised to see Benitez become Everton manager, Gerrard told ESPN FC: “I don’t think it was equally surprising because Rafa was not born in the city.
“He is not a Red through and through, he never played and competed against Everton for 20 years so both situations are completely different.
“Rafa is his own man, he makes his own professional decisions and it was no surprise that he wanted to get back to the Premier League at a big club and had the opportunity to compete in the league against all the top teams so I wasn’t really surprised at all.
“But I was really shocked and surprised that my name was linked to the job.
“I don’t know where it came from or whether it was paper talk, and if there was any truth in it, I am not sure.
“It is never a possibility as far as I am concerned.”
Gerrard came from the Liverpool academy and featured more than 700 times for the Reds before leaving the club in 2015.
