Steven Gerrard’s career as a Liverpool player probably will remain a thing of the past.
Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber on Wednesday quashed speculation about Gerrard returning to Liverpool on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy during the MLS offseason, according to Sky Sports. In a speech at the Soccerex convention in Manchester, England, Garber said MLS wants its players to remain with their clubs for the whole U.S. season instead of missing parts of the campaign while on loan with European clubs, like David Beckham did in the past.
“I don’t think it’s positive for the brand we’re trying to build to have players leave in the middle of the season or come late because they are going out on loan,” Garber told Sky Sports. “Someone who is going to be out on loan for the whole year — like they do in the rest of the world — that’s something that players and teams can talk to each other about.”
Beckham was under contract with the Galaxy in 2009 and 2010 when he joined AC Milan on loan in order to remain sharp for England’s national-team games. Garber said players no longer need to make such moves.
“It was part of the dynamic of MLS many years ago,” he said. “Part of that was simply because the league hadn’t developed enough from a competitive perspective and there was the view that players had to go and play at a more competitive level. That doesn’t necessarily exist today.”
Gerrard’s Galaxy contract expires after the 2016 MLS season. Garber said he has the authority to stop Gerrard, 35, from playing for the Reds or another team that may be interested in the veteran midfielder’s services.
“The absolute power, the answer is yes, the practical power, the answer is no and we’ve never stopped that in the past,” Garber said when asked if he could block a move. “But I would expect today — where fans really, really care about their clubs and their players — that no team would sign a player thinking he would leave in the middle of the season or come late.”
Gerrard ended his Liverpool career in May after 17-plus years in the first team. That clock looks like it will remain where it is for at least the next 15 months.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@TeleFootball
