Gerrard: I always wanted to stay at Anfield

Steven Gerrard will complete his second u-turn on Friday by committing his future to Liverpool after admitting he did not have the heart to leave Anfield

Just 24 hours ago, the Reds were resigned to losing their skipper after Gerrard rejected a £100,000-a-week (€150,000) deal which would have made him the highest-paid player in the club’s history.

With Chelsea poised to swoop with a British-record £40m (€60m) bid, Gerrard left Liverpool’s Melwood training ground for what appeared to be the last time, steeling himself for a life away from his hometown club.

But once he got home, his mind started swirling. With the television and mobile phone switched off, Gerrard sat in a room with his girlfriend and agent Struan Marshall and realised he was on the brink of the biggest mistake of his life.

“I was just thinking ‘how have we got into this mess and what is the best way out of it’,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“I knew I had to do what I had intended to do all along and sign a new contract.

“I love Liverpool so much. This is my club. My heart is with Liverpool. Everyone who knows me can see how I feel.

“The last thing I wanted to do was leave, I just could not do it.”

So, just as he did 12 months ago, Gerrard phoned chief executive Rick Parry and told him he wanted to sign the contract after all.

On paper, the deal will keep the Huyton-born star at Anfield until 2009, but for Parry it is an acceptance Liverpool’s skipper will stay for life.

“I am sure he is going to stay for good,” said a relieved Parry, who spent an hour with Gerrard at Melwood this afternoon. “Steven’s commitment is complete.

“Last night, I admit it looked as if it was going the other way but when it came down to it, I just think he couldn’t leave.”

Chairman David Moores, a close friend of Gerrard’s who also attended today’s brief discussions, claimed the player had become ‘confused’ about the intentions of Parry and manager Rafael Benitez.

The indecision appears to stem from Liverpool’s failure to launch contract talks immediately after Gerrard had skippered the club to their stunning Champions League triumph over AC Milan in May.

Already irritated at the delay, Gerrard’s patience snapped last Wednesday when Parry turned up for a first round of talks armed not with an offer but a request for the 25-year-old’s terms.

What Parry took to be standard negotiating practice, Gerrard interpreted as further proof he was no longer wanted, triggering a tumultuous series of events that appeared certain to see him sign for Chelsea.

“I felt I was being backed into a corner,” revealed Gerrard.

“I know it looked as though I wanted to go but at one stage I thought I had no choice.

“If I blame anyone, it’s myself. I wanted my future sorted out as soon as possible after the Champions League final but the longer it went on, the more misunderstandings there were.

“I admitted I have made some mistakes and that club has acknowledged they have made some as well. I have now apologised to Liverpool and they have apologised to me, which is important.

“But now we have sorted it out and I am doing what I wanted to do all along, which is stay at Liverpool.”

The good news for the Reds fans who gathered in numbers outside Melwood’s metal gates as reports of Gerrard’s u-turn filtered through, is that he has pledged not to put them through similar anguish again.

Having been given a few days off to recover from the emotional turmoil, he will almost certainly miss Saturday’s friendly at Wrexham, but could be involved at Anfield on Wednesday as Liverpool begin the defence of their European title against Welsh minnows Total Network Solutions.

Those ties should be negotiated with the minimum of fuss and mark the start of Liverpool’s preparations for an assault on the Premiership title, which, for all the Reds’ perceived lack of success in recent times, is the only medal missing from Gerrard’s collection.

“I have only one medal left to win at Liverpool and that is the Premiership,” he said.

“That is what I want more than anything and Liverpool is the only place I have ever wanted to win it.

“In my heart, this is my club. I want to help bring success here for the supporters and for their sake, as well as my own, I never want to go through this again.”