Football | Former Liverpool Gerrard retires with managerial aspirations

Wales Dan Lydiate is tackled by Japan’s Timothy Lafaele during the Autumn International rugby match at the Principality Stadium

After an illustrious playing career full of remarkable cup comebacks alongside jarring Premier League lows, Steven Gerrard is done.

The 36-year-old Gerrard, who won every major club honor with Liverpool apart from the English title, said yesterday he was retiring from soccer after an 18-year professional career.

“You are aware that time is coming towards the end, the body starts talking to you,” the former England captain told British broadcaster BT. “The pains and the aches get more regular. The way you feel out there on the pitch changes.

“Over the last couple of years I’ve felt myself slowing down a little bit and I basically can’t deliver what I used to be able to deliver and that becomes a little frustrating as time goes on.”

Gerrard was one of the best midfielders of his era and won admiration for staying loyal to his boyhood club and resisting the riches offered by Premier League rivals.

He only left Liverpool in 2015 after no longer being able to reach the formidable levels of his peak years and losing his place in the team. The final two seasons of his career were seen out with the Los Angeles Galaxy.