Steven Gerrard Liverpool Exit Draws Reaction from Jamie Carragher, Fellow Pros

The measure of a true footballing great is often the reverence with which he is held by those associated within the game. So it is wholly understandable that Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard—who announced on Friday he’ll be leaving the club at the end of current campaign—has drawn swathes of praise from all quarters as he ponders life away from Anfield.

News of Gerrard's summer exit was confirmed on the club's official Twitter:

Jamie Carragher is a man that played alongside Gerrard through the most important moments of his career, lifting a vast array of honours with the skipper. The former defender admitted it’ll be emotional when the 34-year-old does leave the club, but that the timing is probably about right:

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Carragher was also quick to call out those who have changed their tune on the club’s iconic no. 8 with news set to break about his impending departure:

Michael Owen played alongside Gerrard in his career and had this to say about his former Reds teammate:

Former teammate Jamie Redknapp thinks Gerrard's displays over the years means he deserves to be considered alongside the club’s greatest-ever players, per his column in the Daily Mail:

"

When you talk about Liverpool’s greatest players, you think about Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness; but they were surrounded by other fantastic players.

Steven Gerrard has carried Liverpool. He has been the captain, leader and inspiration for some poor teams. He has been their Roy of the Rovers, their superman. We can remember those moments.

Against Olympiacos in 2004 in the Champions League when they were going out and he scored a rocket goal. His header in the Champions League Final against AC Milan in Istanbul.

His match-winning performance against West Ham in the 2006 FA Cup Final when they had all but lost the game at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium but, somehow, he won them the trophy.

"

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Former Reds midfielder Terry McDermott went one step further, hailing Gerrard as the finest player ever to don the iconic all red strip:

It’s a bold claim given the plethora of fine players to have graced Anfield down the years, but it’s one that former Liverpool man David Thompson agrees with:

Arguably the highlight of Gerrard’s trophy-laden career was Liverpool’s Champions League triumph in 2005, when the Reds’ inspired captain helped to haul the team back from three goals down to eventual glory.

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A man who played alongside Gerrard that night was Dietmar Hamann and he too paid tribute to the midfielder on social media:

Xabi Alonso was another of the heroes from Istanbul:

Peter Crouch appeared alongside him in the FA Cup final a year later—the "Gerrard Final" of 2006—and the forward had high praise for his former captain:

Having made his debut for the club in 1998, Gerrard has crossed paths with a host of high-profile figures whilst cementing his status as an immortal great at Anfield. Whether he is the very best of the lot is another debate entirely, but through all the peaks and troughs endured on Merseyside over the course of the past 16 years, the skipper has been an ever-present influence.

With the ferocious pace of the Premier League becoming a little too much for his weary legs to handle, moving on now does seem like the right thing to do. But as the aforementioned names will emphatically attest to, anyone who was lucky enough to see Gerrard prowling about the hallowed Anfield turf will not forget him in a hurry.