Steven Gerrard: it’s up to Liverpool whether I’m at Anfield next season

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/oct/31/steven-gerrard-liverpool-new-contract

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Liverpool’s captain Steven Gerrard has cast doubt on his future at Anfield, with the 34-year-old still yet to agree terms on a new contract and his deal due to expire at the end of the season.

Gerrard has spent his entire career with Liverpool and announced his retirement from international football after the World Cup in a bid to extend his club career. The manager Brendan Rodgers stated that he would like his captain to sign a new deal in the summer but that has so far failed to materialise.

In an interview with The Telegraph published on Thursday night, Gerrard dismissed suggestions that he is considering retiring but suggested that his future at Anfield rests with the club. “I won’t be retiring this summer. I will play beyond this season,” he said. “We will have to wait and see if that’s at Liverpool or somewhere else. That’s Liverpool’s decision.”

Under current rules, Gerrard would be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club in January should he not agree terms on a new deal with Liverpool. However, despite their struggles this season in the wake of the departure of Luis Suárez, he believes the team will find their feet soon.

“When you come close [to the title] it is important you keep your main players,” said Gerrard. “It’s not just about those coming in, it’s about what got you there. When you are taking big chunks of it away and adding five or six into it, it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Gerrard, who captained England at the World Cup in Brazil, also backed plans to introduce a quota system in the Premier League to ensure the national team improves. “There has to be some kind of rule put in so that the pool becomes bigger, even though we need to keep bringing the quality players in,” he said.