Transfer News: Steven Gerrard Era Begins At Los Angeles Galaxy In Summer 2015
Aug 2, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard (8) kicks the ball during an international friendly against AC Milan at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
It is official. Well, just about. Liverpool ace Steven Gerrard will succeed Landon Donovan as the next designated player for the Los Angeles Galaxy, according to reports from numerous sources, including the Washington Post. The deal is a pro-rated deal worth $6 million USD a year.
“This has been the toughest decision of my life,” Gerrard told LiverpoolFC.com on Friday. “My decision is completely based on my wish to 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.”
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Gerrard comes into the 2015 Major League Soccer season with a solid resume, albeit one without a Premier League title to it. The 34-year old midfielder won a UEFA Champions League crown with the club in 2004-05 and he’s won a pair of FA Cups (2000-01, 2005-06). He also has 114 caps with England prior to retiring from international soccer. This year, Gerrard has five goals in 19 English Premier League matches.
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For now, Gerrard will remain with Liverpool until the end of the English football season in May. He would then be eligible to join the Galaxy once the MLS summer transfer window opens in July, according to FIFA regulations. This means that for the first few months of the season, the Galaxy will have to play with two designated players in Robbie Keane and Omar Gonzalez.
“I think, where I’m sitting at the moment, realistically, we’ve still got a chance of finishing in the top four and that’s the most important thing for the club, for obvious reasons,” said Gerrard of Liverpool’s current place in the Premier League. “That would be a great achievement after the start we’ve made in the league.
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“But from a selfish point of view, it’s always a trophy and it’s always medals, for me. That’s what people remember and that’s what the club is all about. It’s about success and history. The day you make your debut for this club, the pressure and the responsibility is on your shoulders to keep delivering trophies to add to that wonderful history. I’ve lived with that for so long and I’ll live with it for another six months and try my best to add one or two more.
“I think when you’ve been part of a club like this for so long and you’ve contributed in the way I’ve tried to, I’d always want that to stay the same in the future. I wouldn’t like to come back just to be Steven Gerrard the player and just be around.
“I’d like to help in whatever capacity that may be. If I sit down with the people who are running the club at that time and they see a role for me where I can help the team or help young kids to become players, of course I will consider it because, as you say, it’s been such a big part of my life.”
The MLS Multiplex will continue to give you hot and fresh transfer stories as they go related to Major League Soccer heading into the 2015 season.