Gerrard stuns Liverpool with departure

Just 41 days after he lifted the European Cup and declared his intention to stay at Anfield, Gerrard has told Liverpool officials he wants to leave.

While his precise destination remains unknown, it appears to be only a matter of time before Chelsea increase the 32million offer which was rejected by Liverpool yesterday and add the England international to their Premiership-winning squad.

After Gerrard's agent, Struan Marshall informed, the club's chief executive, Rick Parry, of the 25-year-old's decision to snub a 100,000-a-week contract offer which would have made him the highest paid player in the club's history, Liverpool insiders privately claimed it is immaterial whether a formal transfer request is lodged or not. The battle to keep him is lost.

"The last six weeks have been the toughest of my life and the decision I have come to has been the hardest decision I have ever had to make," Gerrard said. "I fully intended to sign a new contract after the Champions League final, but the events of the past five or six weeks have changed all that. I have too much respect for the club and the people at it to get involved in a slagging match."

It is now obvious Gerrard was starting to have doubts over his long-term future even as the celebrations following Liverpool's stunning triumph in Istanbul began. Those fears were exacerbated by a failure to open discussions over a new deal. When he arrived for negotiations with Parry last Wednesday to extend a contract that still has two years to run, instead of being offered a deal he was asked what terms he wanted. The player's patience snapped beyond repair.

Stunned by such a swift downturn in the relationship, Parry had hoped to salvage the situation with his big-money offer last night, but admitted yesterday: "We have done our best but it does look pretty final."