Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is to leave the club at the end of the season, it has been confirmed.
Gerrard, 34, will not renew his contract with the club, ending his 25-year association with it.
He is believed to be eyeing up a deal to play in the US, where clubs have expressed an interest.
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"I'm going to carry on playing," Gerrard said. "Although I can't confirm at this stage where that will be, I can say it will be somewhere that means I won't be playing for a competing club, and will not therefore be lining up against Liverpool — that is something I could never contemplate.
"My decision is completely based on my wish to experience something different in my career and life, and I also want to make sure that I have no regrets when my playing career is eventually over."
Chris Klein, the president of David Beckham's former club LA Galaxy, declined to comment on speculation he wants to sign him.
His former teammate Jamie Carragher tweeted it was a "sad day for Lfc and English football".
Gary Lineker called Gerrard "one of the finest players to have ever graced the Premier League" and a "top, top player".
Gerrard made his debut for Liverpool in 1998 and became the team's captain in October 2003. He first joined its youth academy when he was just nine. He was capped for England 114 times and led the team at two world cups and Euro 2012 but retired from international fixtures after the 2014 World Cup.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said: "It is almost an impossible task to find the words to appropriately sum up Steven Gerrard and his importance to Liverpool.
"This is an era where the word 'legend' is vastly overused, but in his case it actually doesn't do him justice."
