LA Galaxy midfielder and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard says next season could be his final one as a player as he acknowledged that Major League Soccer presented challenges he “wasn’t aware of.”
Gerrard’s MLS contract is set to expire after 2016, and the 35-year-old said he’s hoping for better results in his second season after LA’s season ended after a single playoff defeat at Seattle last week.
The loss again delayed Gerrard’s quest to secure a domestic league title, a feat he never accomplished during his time at Liverpool.
“It could be my last season as a footballer,” Gerrard told the Galaxy’s website. “I certainly don’t want to feel like I’m feeling right now come next year.
“I’d love to go out on a high. It’s a long season and I only came here for the last four months, but I’ll certainly be better for the experience next year.”
Despite featuring a squad with Gerrard and other notable stars including Robbie Keane and Giovani Dos Santos, the Galaxy missed a chance to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs with a loss on the final day of the season.
Instead, they finished fifth in the Western Conference and were forced to play away from home on Seattle’ FieldTurf surface.
Reflecting on his first season in the United States, Gerrard admitted that dealing with different pitch surfaces was just one of many challenges that he didn’t expect.
“Going on the road, playing on turf, playing at altitude, playing in humidity, those are the hurdles that I’ve had to face over the last three months that I wasn’t aware of. Every away game has a different challenge,” he said.
Gerrard made 504 appearances for Liverpool scoring 120 times and featured in over a century of games for the Three Lions of England over a 17-year-old career.
