Terungkap, Alasan di Balik Keputusan Gerrard untuk Pensiun

Setelah 19 tahun bekerja sebagai pesepakbola profesional, Steven Gerrard memutuskan untuk menutup karier gemilangnya pada hari ini. Mantan kapten Liverpool tersebut mengumumkan keputusannya untuk gantung sepatu melalui akun Instagram miliknya.

"Menanggapi spekulasi mengenai masa depan saya yang beredar, saya ingin memberikan konfirmasi bahwa saya memutuskan untuk pensiun sebagai pesepakbola profesional," tulis Gerrard dalam caption foto di akun Instagramnya.

Following recent media speculation surrounding my future I can confirm my retirement from playing professional football.I have had an incredible career and am thankful for each and every moment of my time at Liverpool, England and LA Galaxy. I feel very fortunate to have had the career I've had but none of it would have been possible without the support of so many people. Firstly, I would like to thank everyone at Liverpool Football Club. I am proud to have played for and captained Liverpool for so many years and to have achieved what we achieved during my time at the club. I was lucky to play alongside some great players and under some fantastic managers during my time at Anfield and would like to thank each and every one of them, as well as all of the backroom staff at the club for the fantastic support they showed me. I would like to say a special thank you to Steve Heighway, Dave Shannon and Hugh McAuley for believing in me when I was making my way at Liverpool and for giving me the platform to go on and fulfil my dreams. Thank you to the amazing fans of Liverpool, England and LA Galaxy for the incredible backing you have given me throughout my career. Your loyalty and support has meant the world. I would like to thank Struan Marshall, my agent throughout my career, and the team at Wasserman for all of their support over the past 18 years. I feel lucky to have had such a close group of friends that I have always been able to count and rely on throughout the course of my career. Thank you to all of you. Finally, the most important thank you; to my family. I cannot thank my Mum, Dad and brother Paul enough for their unconditional support over the years, it has meant everything to me. To my wife Alex and children Lily, Lexie and Lourdes, thank you for the constant love and support you’ve shown me. You’ve been there through the good times and the bad and without you nothing would have been possible. Thank you for everything. I am excited about the future and feel I still have a lot to offer the game. I am currently taking my time to consider a number of options and will make an announcement with regards to the next stage of my career very soon.

A photo posted by Steven Gerrard (@stevengerrard) on Nov 24, 2016 at 3:35am PST

Sepanjang kariernya, Gerrard hanya bermain untuk dua klub, Liverpool dan Los Angeles Galaxy. Menurut data dari Wikipedia, pria berusia 36 tahun tersebut tampil sebanyak 710 kali untuk The Reds dan menyumbangkan 186 gol. Sementara di Los Angeles Galaxy, Gerrard bermain 38 kali dan mencetak lima gol.

Pria yang pernah terpilih sebagai pesepakbola terbaik di Eropa pada 2005 itu, menyebut kondisi fisik sebagai alasan utama dirinya memutuskan untuk pensiun. Gerrard mengaku bahwa badannya kian sering merasa sakit.

"Badan saya mulai memberikan tanda. Rasa nyeri dan sakit jadi lebih sering saya rasakan. Saya juga menyadari bahwa saya semakin melambat saat bermain dan pertandingan terasa lebih berat," ucap Gerrard dikutip dari Goal.

Gerrard merasa kondisi fisiknya sudah tidak mencapai batas

"Intinya, saya sudah tidak mampu untuk menampilkan permainan yang dulu bisa saya lakukan. Hal itu membuat saya merasa frustasi. Cedera yang saya alami dalam tiga atau empat bulan terakhir juga membuat saya berpikir."

Gerrard dikenal banyak orang sebagai ikon Liverpool. Selama 17 musim bermain untuk tim asal Merseyside tersebut, ayah tiga anak itu sukses membawa Liverpool dua kali menjuarai Piala FA serta sekali meraih trofi Liga Champions dan Piala UEFA (sekarang bernama Liga Europa).

Terungkap, Alasan di Balik Keputusan Gerrard untuk Pensiun

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