Steven Gerrard announces England international retirement

Steven Gerrard has retired from England following 14 years of service. Taking over from John Terry as England captain in 2012, the Liverpool skipper won 114 caps for his country, his last coming against Costa Rica in a substitute appearance at the World Cup in Brazil.

“I have enjoyed every minute of representing my country and it is a sad day for me knowing that I won’t pull on the England shirt again,” Gerrard, who scored 21 international goals and represented his country at six major tournaments, said.

“However, I do look forward to continuing my strong relationship with the FA and helping out in any way I can going forward.

“This has been a very difficult decision, one of the toughest I’ve had to make in my career. I have agonised over this since coming back from Brazil and have spoken to family, friends and people close to me in the game before coming to this point,” he finished.

England manager Roy Hodgson was understandably upset to lose such a world class player, but empathises with Gerrard’s choice: “While I’m disappointed in the decision, I can entirely understand Steven’s situation and can have no complaints given the incredible service he has given to his country.

“I must respect his wishes due to the discussions we have had and the amount of thought and consideration he himself has given it,” Hodgson continued, whose attention now turns to selecting a new captain ahead of the team’s Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

“He is an incredible man and a fantastic footballer who we have all been blessed to see in an England shirt so often. We shall miss his leadership qualities as we look ahead to the qualification campaign with a youthful group of players.”

Gerrard won his first cap for the Three Lions against Ukraine in a 2-0 Euro 2000 warm-up friendly victory, and has never looked back. He was part of the ‘golden generation’ of England players that so many great things were expected from, including David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Terry, Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, however failed to live up to expectations.

Whoever fills the Liverpool man’s void going forward has big boots to step into, with the Three Lions 12/1 to win Euro 2016.