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LIVERPOOL. — Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has said he would have agreed to stay at the English Premiership soccer club if he had been offered a new contract in the close season.
The 34-year-old announced last week he would leave at the end of this season and move to Major League Soccer in the United States after spending his entire career at the Merseyside club.
Gerrard has confirmed he will join Los Angeles Galaxy this summer.
In announcing his decision to leave Liverpool, Gerrard stressed he could not play for another European club if there was a chance they would come up against his boyhood side, and he believes Galaxy is the ideal destination.
“I think it’s a match made in heaven really,” Gerrard told the Los Angeles Times. “One of the reasons I chose LA Galaxy was because of the success they’ve had recently.
“I want to finish my career very strong. I want to add some medals and trophies to my collection.”
Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena also confirmed that Gerrard will join the American club in July.
Arena revealed the news, which was expected to be officially announced late yesterday, in an interview with the LA Times.
“Steven Gerrard arrives in July and by then we will certainly have a plan available,” Arena told the newspaper.
“He’s a player of quality. I’m not concerned about how he’s going to fit in with our team.
“We have a club now with a proven history of success. All those things go hand in hand in making LA Galaxy a very attractive team for players such as Steven Gerrard.”
The Reds skipper, who announced last week he would be leaving Anfield at the end of the season, will sign an 18 month contract worth a staggering £4m a year.
Galaxy president Chris Klein described the former England midfielder as “the perfect fit” for Galaxy who have won the Major League Soccer title in three of the last four years.
Klein said: “We just started thinking in the universe of players that are out there, we want to make a decision on what signifies a Galaxy-designated player.
“When we look at that, Steven Gerrard is the perfect fit with what he brings to us on the field and the character that he has off it.”
Gerrard’s contract with the Galaxy will make him one of Major League Soccer’s top earners, and will see him follow in the footsteps of his former England team-mate David Beckham.
Beckham (39) spent five years in LA and made 118 appearances for the American giants before leaving them in 2012 to join Paris St Germain.
Gerrard’s mega-money move to the Stubhub Center will see him link up with a familiar face.
The 34-year-old will be reunited with his former Liverpool team-mate Robbie Keane.
Keane, who spent one season at Anfield, moved to Los Angeles in 2011 and has scored 68 goals in 113 appearances for Bruce Arena’s side.
Gerrard said at the weekend the turning point in his decision to depart came when manager Brendan Rodgers told him he could no longer play every game. He did not blame the club for effectively making up his mind to leave but said he was ready to commit his future to Liverpool in the summer after they finished as Premier League runners-up. — Soccernet.
Online Reporter