ROAD OF EXIT
Steven Gerrard open to move from Liverpool if not offered new deal
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed he could join another club if he is not offered a new contract.
The 34-year-old, who joined Liverpool's youth academy at the age of nine, ruled out the possibility of retirement when his current deal expires in May. "I won't be retiring this summer. I will play beyond this season," the midfielder said.
"We will have to wait and see if that's at Liverpool or somewhere else. That's Liverpool's decision."
The former England captain, who announced his retirement from international football in July, has made almost 700 appearances for the Anfield club, playing with prolific strikers Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen.
But in a wide-ranging interview with the Daily Mail and Telegraph , the midfielder says current Liverpool and England striker Daniel Sturridge is "possibly the number one English striker I've played with".
On the subject of controversial new signing Mario Balotelli he says: "It's too early to get on Mario's back. I'm not going to judge him after 10 games. I've been impressed with the way he goes about his work. You hear all kinds of stories before you meet him but he does all the work. I like the guy."
Regarding Balotelli's predecessor, Luis Suarez, who joined Barcelona in July, Gerrard said it was a surprise the Uruguay international was not named in a 23-man shortlist for the Fifa 2014 world footballer of the year award.
"He scored 31 goals and was voted the best player in the hardest league in the world," he said. "So you tell me how he's not on the Ballon d'Or list. Incredible.
"He should be fighting Cristiano Ronaldo for it. That's a fact."
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