Steven Gerrard, Liverpool Legend, has claimed that it took him months or years’ to heal mentally from his notorious slip against Chelsea in 2014, which influenced his decision to quit the club the following summer.
Gerrard’s error in the game at Anfield allowed Chelsea striker Demba Ba a key goal, putting a big dent in Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes, which subsequently crumbled altogether just over a week later as a result of a second-half collapse against Crystal Palace.
Steven Gerrard stayed with Liverpool for one more year, bringing his total appearances for the club to 710, before leaving to join the LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer.
Looking back on that period of his career, the former England captain has admitted that the psychological aftermath of the slip was a role in his departure from Liverpool.
Watch Slip Below:
Gerrard stated to Gary Neville on The Overlap that the incident still haunts him and that he carries a ‘bruise’ with him to this day.
“I’ll take full responsibility for it at all times.” “It’s the moment I look back on and say, ‘If only I’d gotten that right, it would have been so much better,'” said the Aston Villa boss.
“It really takes you back in time. I believe I usually claim that moment [is my lowest] because I don’t want people to think I’m oblivious to it. Unfortunately, it happened to me at a really difficult period in my life.”
“It had a mental impact on me for a long time – I’m not sure if it was months or years – and it still doesn’t feel nice. Perhaps this influenced my decision to visit America in terms of timing. When you’re in Liverpool, I think you have to break off from your routine every now and then.
“I still wanted to enjoy my football – I still felt I had a few years left,” he concluded. I felt like going back to the beginning would be the best thing for me, my family, and the ending. It wasn’t directly related to it, but I’d say it had an impact where I was.”
