New deal would have swayed Gerrard

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard says he would have agreed to stay at the club if he had been offered a new contract during the offseason.

The 34-year-old announced last week he is leaving at the end of this season to join Major League Soccer in the US after spending his entire career at Liverpool.

Gerrard said the turning point in his decision to depart came when manager Brendan Rodgers told him he could no longer play every game.

He did not blame the club for effectively making up his mind to leave but said he was ready to commit his future to Liverpool in the summer after it finished as Premier League runner-up.

"If a contract had been put in front of me in preseason I would have signed it," Gerrard was quoted as saying by the Liverpool Echo on Tuesday.

"I'd just retired from England to concentrate all my efforts on Liverpool. I didn't want my club games to be tailored. My injury record had been fantastic for the past two and a half years and I had a great season from a personal point of view last season.

"It's all ifs, buts and hindsight now. That period between the summer and the end of November gave me time to think. There's no blame and I'm not angry about it. There are other people on the squad and the club had other things to worry about.

"There is no finger pointing from me towards the manager or anyone else at the club."

Gerrard's move to the Los Angeles Galaxy was widely reported to be all but finalized.

The Galaxy emerged as the front-runner for Gerrard's services almost as soon as the 34-year-old confirmed he would be heading to America when he leaves at the end of the English Premiership season.

Although details of a deal with the Galaxy reported by media outlets on both sides of the Atlantic differ slightly, most predict an 18-month contract.

A BBC report, which did not cite any sources, said the former England captain would sign a contract worth $9.1 million with the Galaxy.

Reuters