Gerrard could quit in 2013

Steven Gerrard has admitted that he could retire at the end of his current contract, which runs until 2013.

The Liverpool skipper will be 33-years-old by then and accepts that he may decide to hang up his boots.

The England international claims he will take great pride from the fact that, should he call time on his illustrious career at that juncture, he will have spent his entire career at Anfield.

Gerrard was a boyhood Liverpool fan and has become the heartbeat of the Merseyside outfit over the years.

He has revealed that he came close to leaving the club when Chelsea came calling in 2005, but is delighted to have remained loyal to his roots.

"I will be 33 at the end of my contract in 2013 and I don't know if I will go any further," Gerrard told France Football.

"If I do retire, then I will know that from the start to the end of my career I only had one club. And I don't want to think about wearing any other shirt in the future.

"I was close to leaving in the past, maybe twice, most notably in 2005. That year we (Liverpool) were a long way off the Premier League title and Chelsea's interest turned my head.

"It was a difficult moment for me. However, now when I look back I am very happy that I chose to stay here. It has given me real pride."

Liverpool fell narrowly short in their efforts to land the Premier League crown last term and were pipped at the post by North West rivals Manchester United.

However, Gerrard believes the club are heading in the right direction and is backing the Reds to be a stronger force in the 2009/10 campaign.

"I believe the experience of defeat that we felt last season will be useful to us next term," he added.

"The team has greatly improved over the last year or so. Today we are much closer to winning the title than we have been in the past.

"Manchester United's squad is deeper than ours, we know that, and we have to be realistic.

"But if we can add two or three quality players to what we already have, we will be at their level. The summer reinforcements will be essential."