Steven Gerrard has announced his retirement from international duty, after 14-years of service to the England national team.
The 34-year-old made his debut in 2000 in a 2-0 win over Ukraine at Wembley, and the Liverpool captain went on to play 114 times for England, score 21 times and represented England at six major tournaments.
He scored three goals in twelve appearance at the World Cup, although he missed the 2002 World Cup through injury, he played in three FIFA World Cup Finals, his first in Germany 2006, then as captain for both South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014.
A winner of countless prizes at club level, both team and individual awards, Gerrard won the England Player of the Year award, voted for by the fans, in both 2007 and 2012. He said: “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.
“However, I do look forward to continuing my strong relationship with The FA and helping out in any way I can going forward. “I’d like to firstly thank my family and friends for all their support throughout my England journey.
“I’d also like to thank everyone who has been part of my international career, from the England Managers I’ve played under to the staff at The FA and, of course, all the players I’ve been fortunate to play alongside. “In particular, the supporters have been amazing, not least in Brazil when they got behind the team despite the disappointing results.
“I’d especially like to thank Roy [Hodgson], firstly for giving me the captaincy permanently when he took the job, making me the proudest man in the country and allowing me to fulfil my childhood dream. “He has been very understanding over the past few weeks and is a man I will always hold in the highest regard.
“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.
“Most importantly, Brendan [Rodgers] has been fantastic and obviously I have to look after my body as much as possible to ensure I can give everything when I take to the field.
“To ensure I can keep playing to a high level and giving everything to Liverpool Football Club I believe this is the right decision, and having Champions League football back at Anfield is another big factor in my decision.
” Gerrard was captain of the England team 38 times, and was the third most capped player of all time behind Peter Shilton (125) and David Beckham (115). He is joined in the century club by Bobby Moore (108), Ashley Cole (107), Bobby Charlton (106), Frank Lampard (106) and Billy Wright (105).