Brendan Rodgers and FSG have both had their say on the captain today
In the hours since Steven Gerrard made his official statement about his Liverpool future, both club owners FSG and Brendan Rodgers have spoken about the captain and his contributions to the team and club over the past 17 years.
Club owners John Henry and Tom Werner said “This news stirs many strong emotions for all of us connected with the club.
“There is sadness that such a great player and person is leaving and won’t be playing for Liverpool beyond this season.
“But there is also a sense of celebration and gratitude, that we’ve all been privileged to watch and work with one of the true greats, not just of this club, but the game in general.
“We will all have our own personal memories of breathtaking Steven Gerrard moments; there are far too many to list.”
Indeed, many of us will look to take the latter approach to Gerrard’s exit and celebrate his immense career and huge contributions to the club during his time here, whilst supporting his decision to make a move that will, no doubt, see him play out the remainder of his career in a less-challenging league, but in a more glamorous country.
The owners continued “I hope we all respect that Steven and his family want to pursue something new and different for the final years of his playing career.
“We all wish him well in this endeavour and look forward to welcoming him back to Anfield in the future, when the time is appropriate.”
But, whilst FSG have witnessed Gerrard from afar, much like the rest of us, Rodgers has spent 2 1/2 years working side-by-side with Gerrard every day and offered a much more personal tribute to the captain. Rodgers said “It is almost an impossible task to find the words to appropriately sum up Steven Gerrard and his importance to Liverpool.
“This is an era where the word ‘legend’ is vastly overused, but in his case it actually doesn’t do him justice.
“From a personal point of view I will always have gratitude for the support he gave me, when I arrived here as manager.
“Steven came to see me and promised he would be 100 per cent behind me and do everything he could to help as we looked to introduce new ideas and a new way of working.”
Rodgers continued “As a player he is immense and the influence he has on games should never be understated. At times he has carried this club on his back and in my time here he has always shown the ability that has rightly seen him be regarded as one of the world’s best for well over a decade.
“As a leader and as a man, he is probably incomparable to anyone I have ever worked with.
“We of course will miss him, both on the field of play and in his capacity as club captain, but his influence will live on and we wish him nothing but joy and success wherever he chooses to go next.
“Until that moment arrives I will continue to enjoy working with Steven Gerrard the man and Steven Gerrard the player, one of the greatest we have seen.”
Of course, there will be many more words spoken about Gerrard in the days to come but let us know your thoughts/feelings in the comments below.
fuck brainless yanks for his exit…he is on decline but atleast the stevie of last season was immense,hendo to take up the mantle?…yes becus we re a midtable team,all thanks to the yanks
He deservedly made me astaunch fan of the great club .
But time is up , what an icon!
Mmmmmm, I’m convinced they said exactly the same thing about Dalglish when he went as manager
By the way Rodgers picked his all time Premiership team years ago on a to show before he was LFC manager and didn’t have Gerrard in it.