Liverpool legend: Brendan Rodgers' decision to drop me meant I had to leave

Steven Gerrard was dropped by Brendan Rodgers for key games last season

FORMER Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has admitted he had to leave the club when he was being left on the bench for big games by Brendan Rodgers.

 

Gerrard left his boyhood club at the end of last season after 17 years and over 500 appearances to join MLS side LA Galaxy.

His final year at Anfield was a frustrating one for the 35-year-old as he struggled to recover the devastating blow of missing out on the Premier League title in the 2013/14 season.

 

But Gerrard says Rodgers' decision to drop him for big games against the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid along with his love for Liverpool were the catalyst for his exit.

He told Eurosport: "It was simple: I didn’t want to compete against Liverpool. Liverpool is my team, the team that I love, the team that I will always support for the rest of my life. 

 

"And I was at that stage at that age where the manager, Brendan Rodgers, was playing me less and less; I was missing big games on the bench. 

"That’s not what I enjoy – it’s not the Steven Gerrard I want to be – so I thought the time was right to try something new, something different."