Steven Gerrard has confirmed he will link up with LA Galaxy in the summer, and he intends to help them win more silverware.
The Liverpool captain announced last week that he will leave his boyhood club at the end of his contract, which ends his lengthy association with the Merseyside giants. When revealing his decision, he stated that he would not even consider joining another English side, and he was then immediately tipped to head to the United States to ply his trade in the MLS.
And this has indeed proved to be the case, after confirming on Wednesday that he has agreed a deal with LA Galaxy. Gerrard, who won 10 major honours with the Reds including the UEFA Champions League in 2005, will follow in the footsteps of his former England international pal David Beckham, who spent five years at the Stub Hub Centre after joining in 2007.
Galaxy, who have won the MLS Cup five times and the MLS Supporters Shield four times, will welcome Gerrard in July. And speaking to their official website, the midfielder said: “I’m very excited to begin the next chapter of my career in the United States. The Galaxy are the most successful club in Major League Soccer history and I am looking forward to competing for more championships in the years to come.
“My discussions with (coach) Bruce Arena and (president) Chris Klein were extremely positive. The future of the team is very bright. I am committed to helping the LA Galaxy compete for trophies and to having an impact in Los Angeles and I will give my all for the club. In the meantime, I will continue to give everything for Liverpool for the remainder of this season before joining up with the Galaxy.”
Prior to this announcement, Gerrard revealed he would have signed a new contract at Liverpool had one been tabled during the summer on the back of a 2013-14 campaign in which he scored 13 Premier League goals. Not securing his services could yet come back and haunt the Anfield club, who witnessed their skipper score twice against FC Wimbledon in the FA Cup on Monday night.
“If a contract had been put in front of me in pre-season I would have signed it,” the 34-year-old told the Liverpool Echo. “I’d just retired from England to concentrate all my efforts on Liverpool. I didn’t want my club games to be tailored. My injury record had been fantastic for the past two and a half years and I had a great season from a personal point of view last season.
“It’s all ifs, buts and hindsight now. That period between the summer and the end of November gave me thinking time. There’s no blame and I’m not angry about it. There are other people in the squad and the club had other things to worry about. There is no finger pointing from me towards the manager [Brendan Rodgers] or anyone else at the club.”
Is LA Galaxy a good move for Gerrard, or could he still cut it in one of Europe’s top leagues? Let us know what you think by joining the discussion below.
