Steven Gerrard believes he may have one more season with LA Galaxy before retiring from professional football.
The former Liverpool and England midfielder, who joined the Major League Soccer club this year, wants to go out on a high after the disappointing end to their season.
“It could be my last season as a footballer. I certainly don’t want to feel like I’m feeling right now come next year,” the 35-year-old told the club website (www.lagalaxy.com).
“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.”
Gerrard, who had spent his entire career at Liverpool, scored on his MLS debut but netted only once more in 14 matches for the club, whose defence of their title ended when they were knocked out in the playoffs by Seattle Sounders.
The former England captain admitted it had taken time to adapt to playing in the United States, with its variety of locations, conditions and time zones.
“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.
“At home, we’ve got no problems because we’re very strong and we play well. We’ll always win more than we lose. For us to move forward next year and finish in the top two spots we’ve got to be better defensively and stop conceding on set pieces and crosses.”
Gerrard played more than 700 games for Liverpool, scoring 186 goals in all competitions.