Steven Gerrard has opened up about the one decision from the end of his Liverpool career that still nags at him: walking away from Anfield in 2015 without knowing Jürgen Klopp was about to walk through the door.
The former Reds captain spent 17 years at the club before joining LA Galaxy on a free transfer after Liverpool offered him a one-year extension. At the time, club staff made it clear his role would diminish. Fewer minutes. A bit-part part. Not the active involvement he still craved at 35.
Speaking at an event in Singapore, Gerrard was blunt about how different things might have been.
“I would have sacrificed a lot of things, professionally and personally, to have the opportunity to play for Jürgen Klopp,” he said (via TNT Sports). “I was offered a contract at the backend of my Liverpool career to stay for one more year, but I was having conversations with the Liverpool staff and the conversations were more like, ‘You’re going to be more of a bit-part player, play fewer minutes and not be as active as I would’ve liked.’”
Then came the admission that still lands with a punch:
“If I’d known Jürgen was definitely going to come, I would’ve gambled and stayed and tried to impress Jürgen and maybe have that opportunity at the backend of my career. Unfortunately I’d made the decision to move. In hindsight, I would’ve stayed and taken the gamble.”
The timing was cruel. Gerrard’s final appearance in a Liverpool shirt came in May 2015. Brendan Rodgers was sacked months later. Klopp was appointed in October. Gerrard never got the chance to work under the manager who would go on to deliver a Premier League title and a Champions League to Anfield.
It is easy to understand the original choice. At that stage of his career, the warning about reduced minutes carried weight. Yet the “what if” remains irresistible. What if Gerrard had stayed one more year and crossed paths with Klopp? Would the greatest modern Liverpool captain have forced his way into the early Klopp side, or would the transition have been awkward? We will never know.
Gerrard’s honesty only sharpens the sense of a missed chapter. One extra season. One different decision. And the story of both player and club might have looked a little different.
What do you think — should Steven Gerrard have stayed for one more year?
