England captain Steve Gerrard on Monday announced that he is retiring from international competition. Gerrard made 114 appearances in 14 years representing England; he finishes as hiscountry’s third most-capped player, one shy of David Beckham. The Liverpool captain will now become an ambassador to the Football Association.
“I have enjoyed every minute ofrepresenting my country and it is a sad day for me knowing that I won’t pull on the England shirt again,” the 34-year-old said. “However, I do look forward to continuing my strong relationship withthe FA and helping out in any way I can going forward.”
Gerrard then thanked his family, the fans, and England coach Roy Hodgson before adding: “This has been a verydifficult decision, one of the toughest I’ve had to make in my career. I have agonized over this since coming back from Brazil and have spoken to family, friends and people close to me in the gamebefore coming to this point.” He added: “To ensure I can keep playing to a high level and giving everything to Liverpool Football Club I believe this is the right decision, and havingChampions League football back at Anfield is another big factor in my decision.”