Steven Gerrard was born in Liverpool, worked his way up through the academy, and then made his mark in the first team. Although he did not win the Premier League, he did win the Champions League and made his mark as a legend of the club.
Toward the end of his career, he moved to the bottom of midfield, but the decline of age was not to be resisted, and his playing time began to decline under Brendan Rodgers, who was at the helm at the time. In search of opportunities, he moved to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the summer of 2015.
Then, a few months later, Liverpool reached a turning point: in October 2015, Jurgen Klopp, the manager who had helped propel Dortmund to the Bundesliga’s top club, took over at Anfield, and you know what his track record has been from there.
The former England midfielder, who left the club just a short time ago, still regrets his decision at the time and has been candid about his desire to be mentored by Klopp, even if he had to endure the Rodgers’ regime.
“I was devastated. I obviously made a decision not to sign a year extension to go to America, whereas if I’d took the extension, I might have got six months under the guidance of Jurgen Klopp.”
“But obviously being under Brendan’s management at the time, I was getting told my game time was gonna get less and less.”
“I didn’t wanna be a sub for Liverpool, I didn’t wanna be a squad player. I still felt that I was the best midfielder there at the time.”
“But in hindsight, if I’d have knew what was gonna come off, 100%, I’d have signed the year extension, and I’d have put up with four to five months of Brendan to get six months of Klopp, for sure.”
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Although Gerrard continued to captivate audiences with his dynamic style of play, it was difficult to guess his future when he left the team. Klopp was expected to take a year off, and with Manchester United and other big-name clubs also looking for Gerrard, the competition for his services was fierce.
It was only a matter of consequence, the kind of regret that everyone has. As a manager, he had great success with Rangers, but failed with Aston Villa. He is now coaching in Saudi Arabia, but will he ever be able to make his mark in Europe again?