Steven Gerrard announces his retirement from football

Steven Gerrard has announced his retirement from professional football. 

The 36-year-old made the announcement on Wednesday morning on Instagram in a lengthy post. He played for only two clubs in his career. He was best known for his time at Liverpool, followed by a spell in MLS with LA Galaxy. 

Gerrard also captained England in Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup. He played 114 times for his country between 2000 and 2014. 

 

Following recent media speculation surrounding my future I can confirm my retirement from playing professional football.I have had an incredible career and am thankful for each and every moment of my time at Liverpool, England and LA Galaxy. I feel very fortunate to have had the career I've had but none of it would have been possible without the support of so many people. Firstly, I would like to thank everyone at Liverpool Football Club. I am proud to have played for and captained Liverpool for so many years and to have achieved what we achieved during my time at the club. I was lucky to play alongside some great players and under some fantastic managers during my time at Anfield and would like to thank each and every one of them, as well as all of the backroom staff at the club for the fantastic support they showed me. I would like to say a special thank you to Steve Heighway, Dave Shannon and Hugh McAuley for believing in me when I was making my way at Liverpool and for giving me the platform to go on and fulfil my dreams. Thank you to the amazing fans of Liverpool, England and LA Galaxy for the incredible backing you have given me throughout my career. Your loyalty and support has meant the world. I would like to thank Struan Marshall, my agent throughout my career, and the team at Wasserman for all of their support over the past 18 years. I feel lucky to have had such a close group of friends that I have always been able to count and rely on throughout the course of my career. Thank you to all of you. Finally, the most important thank you; to my family. I cannot thank my Mum, Dad and brother Paul enough for their unconditional support over the years, it has meant everything to me. To my wife Alex and children Lily, Lexie and Lourdes, thank you for the constant love and support you’ve shown me. You’ve been there through the good times and the bad and without you nothing would have been possible. Thank you for everything. I am excited about the future and feel I still have a lot to offer the game. I am currently taking my time to consider a number of options and will make an announcement with regards to the next stage of my career very soon.

A photo posted by Steven Gerrard (@stevengerrard) on Nov 24, 2016 at 3:35am PST

Best known for captaining Liverpool to glory in the 2005 Champions League final, Gerrard's best game in a red jersey arguably came the year after when he led the team to FA Cup glory against West Ham in one of the best finals in recent memory. Gerrard scored two goals in the 3-3 draw, before Liverpool won on penalties.

Throughout his career, Premier League glory continued to elude Gerrard. In recent years he has been remembered for his role in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Liverpool in the latter stages of Liverpool's ultimately fruitless path towards Premier League glory in 2014.

He retires with a Champions League and UEFA Cup winners medal, along with two FA Cups and three League Cups.

In his statement, he revealed he will reveal the next stage of career "very soon". 

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