Steven Gerrard has voiced his regret at the timing of his exit from Liverpool in 2015, admitting that he’d have stayed on at Anfield if he knew Jurgen Klopp would soon come in as manager.
The former Reds captain called time on his lengthy career at the club 11 years ago, with his final game coming four-and-a-half months before Brendan Rodgers was sacked and the German hired as his replacement.
It meant that the midfielder missed out on featuring under a legendary figure who delivered Premier League and Champions League glory on Merseyside and oversaw an unforgettable nine-year period at LFC.
Gerrard wishes he’d played under Klopp at Liverpool
Speaking at an event in Singapore, Gerrard admitted having regrets at leaving Liverpool not long before Klopp was hired, especially having been offered a one-year contract extension by the club in 2015.
The 46-year-old reflected (via TNT Sports): “I would have sacrificed a lot of things, professionally and personally, to have the opportunity to play for Jürgen Klopp.
“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.’
“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.”
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The timing just didn’t work out, unfortunately
It was a pity that the eras of two great Liverpool figures came so close to overlapping without ever doing so, but obviously Gerrard wasn’t to know that, at the time he announced his exit at the start of 2015, Klopp was just a few months away from rocking up at Anfield.
It was also understandable from the midfielder’s point of view that, having been a distinguished captain of the club for a dozen years, he didn’t want to be warming the bench most weeks when he was in his mid-30s and his playing career was nearing its end.
It wasn’t until 2018 that the Reds had the midfield unit which’d become synonymous with the peak years of the German’s reign. Jordan Henderson was already in situ when Gerrard left, with Gini Wijnaldum joining in 2016 and Fabinho coming in two years later.
Could the Huyton native have made a telling difference at Liverpool if he’d stayed for even one more season and played under Klopp? Obviously we’ll never know, but it’s hard not to think about it in the wake of the 46-year-old’s reflections.