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Steven Gerrard, the captain of Liverpool FC and former skipper of England, has announced that he’ll be leaving the English Premier League club at the end of the 2014/15 season. The 34-year-old midfielder told the media that he’ll be joining North America’s Major League Soccer (MLS) when he leaves England, because he doesn’t want to remain in the Premier League and face Liverpool. Speculation is running rampant in the English press that Gerrard will be heading to the Los Angeles Galaxy to take over from the recently-retired Landon Donovan.

Gerrard has been associated with Liverpool since he was eight years old, and now 25 years later feels that he’d like to face a new challenge abroad. He said that leaving Liverpool has been the hardest decision of his life, but he and his family discussed the move and length and agreed it’s the best thing to do at this stage of his career. However, he also added that he’d love to return to Anfield is some capacity one day.

When Gerrard made the announcement just after New Year’s he had played in 695 games for the club and had 180 goals to his name. He remarked that the last few games and training sessions will be torture when they arrive near the end of the season in May, but he’s hoping the fans understand that he’s just saying “see you soon,” rather than “goodbye.” Gerrard told Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers that he intends to keep playing as hard as he can until the end of the campaign and he’d love to help the side win the FA Cup or League Cup before he leaves as well as leading the team to a top-four finish and a berth in the 2015/16 European Champions League.

Gerrard led his teammates to the 2004/05 Champions League trophy against AC Milan of Italy even though the English side trailed 3-0 in the first half. Gerrard sparked a comeback and Liverpool won the match 4-3 in a penalty shootout in Istanbul, Turkey. Gerrard also won the UEFA Cup, three League Cups and a pair of FA Cups. However, the one thing that eluded him in his illustrious career was the Premier League championship. The closest he came was last season when Liverpool finished as runners-up to Manchester City by just two points.

Fenway Sports Group, which owns Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball, have already invited Gerrard to return to the football club once his playing days in America are over. It’s believed he may return one day to help coach the team and could eventually become its manager. Rodgers said he was hoping Gerrard would stay and offered him a coaching role, but said Gerrard still wants to play. Los Angeles Galaxy fans are hoping the rumours of Gerrard joining the club are true, but it’s also possible that he could end up with another team. He said he’d make an announcement as soon as all of the details are finalized.