If Gerrard had joined Chelsea in 2005 . . .

Steven Gerrard was applauded off on what will be his last ever appearance at Stamford Bridge, but his life could have looked so different had he joined Chelsea back in 2005. The legendary Liverpool captain has spent 17 glorious years at Anfield having turned down Jose Mourinho’s advances after initially asking to leave his boyhood club for west London.

And while that choice meant he would go on to win the FA Cup and League Cup with Liverpool, Gerrard missed out on Chelsea’s trophy-laden period that included three Barclays Premier League titles, a Champions League win, four FA Cups, two League Cups and the Europa League.

So as he prepares to finally bow out before moving to LA Galaxy in the summer, Sportsmail takes a look at what Gerrard’s life could have looked like . . .

Despite a long and successful career in England Gerrard has never won the league with Liverpool, the one big title that is missing from his personal trophy haul. But had he joined Chelsea he could have been part of three title winning sides, in 2005-06, 2009-10 and the current season.

Under the stewardship of Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and the Portuguese coach again on his return, the former England captain would have been a driving force in midfield and have the medals to show for it.

Winning the Champions League in 2005 played a big part in Gerrard’s decision to stay put at Liverpool, but moving would have given him another chance to claim to be a European champion.

With Liverpool absent from the competition in 2012, Chelsea beat Napoli, Benfica and Barcelona on their way to the final where Bayern Munich were seen off on penalties to spark wild celebrations at the Allianz Arena.

Gerrard would have joined team-mates Didier Drogba, John Terry and Frank Lampard in claiming his new club’s first ever Champions League crown and maybe it could even have been him taking the defining fifth penalty that was instead netted by Drogba. It’s a problem that plagued many an England manager, but who’s to say that Mourinho couldn’t have finally found a way to make it work between the two finest English mid-fielders of their generation?

Training together every week, Lampard and Gerrard could have been a partnership in the middle to last a decade before eventually heading off to Major League Soccer together this coming summer.

And who knows, England could have boasted a midfield that would be feared across the international game and maybe those 49 years of hurt would have been cut short.

Only seven teams have won a League and Cup double in England. Liverpool are one of them but their dual success in 1985-86 was before Gerrard’s time. Chelsea achieved the feat under Ancelotti in 2009-10 and Gerrard would have been part of the record-breaking side that scored an incredible 103 Premier League goals before beating Portsmouth at Wembley.

Gerrard, sitting in midfield with Lampard and Michael Ballack, would have another two trophies to his name in one of English football’s most successful careers.

Gerrard spoke of how it was “nice of them to turn up for once” when he was applauded off by the Chelsea fans, but what would it have been like when he returned to the stadium that adored him in a colour other than red?

The Kop tends to welcome back former players but it might have been a different story with Gerrard as a key part of a team that have always enjoyed a heated rivalry with Liverpool.

Whatever the reception, the thought of coming up against former team-mates and friends such as Jamie Carragher would make it an emotional occasion for the 34-year-old. – DailyMail.