Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard wanted Jamie Carragher to keep playing

Steven Gerrard has revealed he tried to convince Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher to extend his career by an extra year after the veteran announced his plans to retire at the end of the season.

The 35-year-old revealed his decision on Thursday after the centre-half started back-to-back Premier League games for the first time this campaign, impressing against Arsenal and Manchester City.

Carragher has been a long-term team-mate of Gerrard after breaking into Gérard Houllier’s starting line-up a season before the current Reds captain, and the pair have gone on to lift seven trophies together.

And Gerrard, who made his 600th appearance for Liverpool in November, was desperate to persuade Carragher to keep playing for another season, likening the centre-half to club greats such as Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson.

“I’ve known a little bit longer than other people. I’ve tried just as hard as everyone else to try to keep him going for a bit longer,” Gerrard told Liverpool’s website.

“But we have to respect his decision. He’s had a fantastic career and he feels it’s the right time to go out, at the end of the season.

“Hopefully there are still some big performances left in him before he goes.

“I could go on for a long time about him. People mention him alongside the likes of Hansen and Lawrenson, the best defenders that this club has ever had.

“For me, if he’s not alongside them he’s a little bit above them. That’s the biggest compliment I can pay him.

“He’s a wonderful player – at his peak, for two or three seasons he was one of the best defenders in the world.”

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