Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player who manages Scottish Premiership club Rangers. He spent the majority of his playing career as a central midfielder for Liverpool, with most of that time spent as club captain, as well as captaining the England national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Gerrard was awarded the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award in 2005, and the Ballon d'Or Bronze Award. In 2009, Zinedine Zidane and Pelé said that they considered Gerrard to be the best footballer in the world. A versatile and well-rounded player, highly regarded for his leadership, Gerrard is the only footballer to score in an FA Cup Final, a League Cup Final, a UEFA Cup Final and a UEFA Champions League Final, winning on each occasion.
Born in Whiston, Merseyside, Gerrard made his senior debut for Liverpool in 1998. In 2000–01, Gerrard helped Liverpool secure a unique treble of cups, and after further cup success the next season, Gerrard was given the captaincy in 2003. In 2005, Gerrard led Liverpool to a historic fifth European title, being named Man of the Match as Liverpool came from 3–0 down to defeat Milan in what became known as the Miracle of Istanbul. The following year, Gerrard starred in the 2006 FA Cup Final, which has been called The Gerrard Final. Both finals have since become widely regarded as amongst the greatest in the history of each competition. Chosen by The Daily Telegraph as Liverpool's greatest ever player, Gerrard won a total of two FA Cups, three League Cups, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup in his 17 seasons at Anfield. Despite collective and individual success, Gerrard never won the Premier League, finishing runner-up with Liverpool on three occasions. He joined Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy in 2015 where he spent one-and-a-half seasons before his retirement in 2016.