Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has ensured his status as a one-club footballer by signing a contract extension that will keep him at Anfield for at least the next two seasons.
Gerrard signed the new deal at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground Monday morning and expressed his delight over remaining a Red.
“I think everyone knows what it means to me,” said Gerrard. “I’ve been here that long and so, to extend, it’s a big day for me and I’m really happy for myself and my family. It’s great news.”
The 33 year old midfielder has spent his entire career at Liverpool, making his debut for Liverpool in 1998. He has since made 630 appearances, scored 159 goals and won the Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup (twice) and League Cup (three times) during his time at the club.
In the Premier League this kind of one-club dedication is a dying breed. This past spring saw the retirement of two of world football’s greatest one-club footballers.
Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher put in 17 loyal seasons at Anfield and epitomized what it means to be a grinder. The Scouser was considered to be decently talented early in his career for the Reds but as time went on his legend grew with Carra repeatedly putting his body on the line and developing into one of the most iconic center-backs in the club’s history.
Speaking of grit, that’s the trait perhaps best defined the career of Manchester United’s Paul Scholes. But alongside that grit came prescient vision and an array of passes that could set a jailed man free. After 18 years the man Pep Guardiola famously called “[the] best midfielder of his generation” took his final bow in last year’s title run.
There is, however, one current Premier League player with an even more impressive single-club stint: Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs.
The Welsh midfielder, who turns 40 years old this November, has been gracing the pitch at Old Trafford since 1990, two years before the formation of the Premier League. With 941 total appearances for the club, this season will be Giggs’ 23rd season at Old Trafford.
