Gerrard Confirms Summer Move Abroad

Steven Gerrard has confirmed that he will leave Liverpool and the English Premier League at the end of the season. The Reds captain has spent his entire 17-year career at Anfield, but in apress conference on Friday said he simply wants a new experience before he hangs up his boots for good.

Since the announcement, several reports have surfaced linking the former Englandinternational with a move to Major League Soccer, particularly, the LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls and New York City FC. Gerrard’s Liverpool contract expires at the end of the current season, andwhile the club had offered him a new contract, he apparently did not want to commit to a new deal when his place in the first team is no longer guaranteed.

“I’m going to carry onplaying,” Gerrard said Friday during his press conference. “Although I can’t confirm at this stage where that will be, I can say it will be somewhere that means I won’t beplaying for a competing club, and will not therefore be lining up against Liverpool — that is something I could never contemplate.” He added: “My decision is completely based on my wishto experience something different in my career and life, and I also want to make sure that I have no regrets when my playing career is eventually over.”

Gerrard, a central midfielder, hasscored 180 goals in 695 appearances for Liverpool, during which time he won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup, but never the Premier League. Last season, he drove the Reds toa seconnd-place finish with the highest number of points accumulated (84) in his career.