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Gerrard has declared his intention to quit his only club after rejecting Liverpool's offer of a new contract.
The two parties have been engaged in talks in a bid to end 12 months of uncertainty regarding his future on Merseyside.
Chelsea were keen to sign the midfielder last summer but Gerrard opted to reject the club's overtures to stay with his boyhood heroes.
The Reds' recent success in the UEFA Champions League final against Milan appeared to sway Gerrard into committing his long-term future to Rafa Benitez's side.
But discussions regarding a new deal have broken down in recent days and Gerrard's relationship with Liverpool's top brass is now beyond repair.
Liverpool have confirmed that talks to extend Gerrard's deal, which currently runs until 2007, are now over after the skipper expressed his determination to leave.
"The club has made it crystal clear we want to keep Steven at Anfield," read a club statement.
"Sadly, he has told us this afternoon that he will not accept our offer of an improved and extended contract because he wants to leave Liverpool.
"We very much regret the decision he has taken."
Gerrard's decision to publicly confirm his eagerness to quit Liverpool will now spark a transfer scramble for his services.
Chelsea have already confirmed their initial offer for the 25-year-old, believed to be in the region of £32 million, has been rejected and they are likely to come in with a revised bid.
Real Madrid are also interested but lack the financial muscle to compete with the Premiership champions and that could leave Chelsea as the sole realistic bidders for Gerrard.
The Reds will now be left in the position of trying to negotiate the best price for their midfield powerhouse and it is likely a British transfer record fee will be required to secure Gerrard's signature.
[URL]http://skysports.planetfootball.com/LIST.ASP?HLID=289598[/URL]
> Yes it was. Chelsea couldn't cope with Europe. In Britain they were
> great. But in Europe they struggled.
Gahahahahaha.
Couldn't cope with Europe? Chelsea beat both Barcelona and Bayern 4-2.
Liverpool on the other hand were solid in Europe, especially after the group stages.
> Mozzy wrote:
> But we all know they aren't the best team in Europe, they were the
> best in that competition though.
>
> What?!?!
>
> So you're saying the best team in Europe weren't in the Champions
> League? Name please.
Meh, that wasn't what I meant. The best team in Europe isn't the team that won this years CL.
Time perhaps for Liverpool to nip in front of Chelsea and sign Wright-PHillips.
Need some quality English players...
Owen back to Liverpool as a part of the Gerrard deal?
Joe Cole to Liverpool as a part of the Gerrad deal?
Bring in Owen Hargreeves to bring an English backbone to the squad?
And a decent player for Carragher to work with in defence.
Liverpool technically have a great team already. They just need that spark.
And unless I'm mistaken Zenden is quick. Exactly what Liverpool need. A Baros that doesn't fluff everything.
He'll never be at Liverpool.
1.) He's retiring at the end of next season anyway due to his current health situation, which isn't good.
2.) Even if he was to stay on for one season more, the Premiership is a quicker and tougher league than Serie A. And Nedved's main gripe is that he gets kicked around by the opposition every week.
3.) If Liverpool did make an offer, it wouldn't be all that high, seeing as he's only got a short time left in top flight football. And if it wasn't a good value offer, Juve wouldn't accept it.
> Money is on Gerrard to join Madrid but who can Benitz bring in to
> replace him?
Lampard :-D