
How has this been allowed to happen? The long goodbye has started for Steven Gerrard but I’m struggling to work out how it has come to this.

I never thought he would leave Liverpool. I always envisaged that, like me, he would finish his career as a one club man.

He has devoted his life to Liverpool since he first walked into the Academy as an eight-year-old, making huge sacrifices on the way.

VIDEO Scroll down to see John Aldridge recall his favourite Steven Gerrard moments

Jamie Carragher (right) cannot believe Liverpool have allowed their talismanic captain Steven Gerrard to walk away from the club

Gerrard was snapped driving away from Melwood on Friday and will leave Anfield when his contract expires at the end of the season

Sportsmail's Carragher and Gerrard both kiss the Champions League trophy in Istanbul after a stunning Liverpool comeback in 2005

Gerrard hoists the trophy after inspiring the Miracle of Istanbul against AC Milan, crowning Liverpool as European champions

The departing Liverpool skipper jumps on the back of Carragher while celebrating an Emile Heskey goal 14 years ago

CHIEF SPORTS WRITER Click here to read MARTIN SAMUEL's column on Gerrard's time at Liverpool Advertisement

Less than six months ago, Steven stopped playing for England so he could give his all to Liverpool for the next ‘two or three’ years. Then came the uncertainty over contract talks and on these pages six weeks ago, I said Liverpool couldn’t let him drift away. Now here we are. The drift has started.

Do not underestimate the importance of feeling wanted, even for a top player. The fact that this situation has dragged on will not have helped; even at the peak of his powers, Steven needed reassurance about his ability and importance. One story comes to mind. In the summer of 2011, when Kenny Dalglish had signed Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam, and Lucas Leiva was playing well, Steven asked Kenny, ‘Where am I going to play then?’ He said it as a joke but there was a hint of seriousness to it, too.

From one point of view, I can see why Steven is going to take a fresh challenge, most likely in America. He’s been the biggest star in Liverpool for 15 years and I’m not just talking about at the football club.

Liverpool is a city but it’s more like a village. Everyone seems to know one another and being the main man, like Steven, comes with incredible scrutiny.

If he ever went to a bar or restaurant, he would bring it to a standstill. For that reason, he stopped going into town long ago.

He always seems to be the talk of the town, whether that is for something he has done on the pitch or something else. The passion for the club on a daily basis can be suffocating for a local lad.

It is relentless.

Liverpool's captain gives European football's most coveted prize a kiss after Liverpool's penalty shootout win against Milan

Sportsmail's Kevin Quigley brilliantly photographed Gerrard celebrating after scoring a last-minute penalty against Fulham last year

Gerrard celebrates with future first-team ally Michael Owen (centre) during a FA Youth Cup match at Anfield in January 1997

Manager Brendan Rodgers talks to Gerrard during the Premier League clash against Steve Bruce's Hull City at Anfield in October

The 34-year-old has found himself coming on as a substitute more often in Rodgers' new-look Liverpool this campaign

Gerrard was overlooked by his manager when Liverpool travelled to Real Madrid in the Champions League back in November

STAT ATTACK 1 - Gerrard is the only English player to have scored in the final of the Champions League, the Europa League or UEFA Cup, the FA Cup and the League Cup. Advertisement

When Michael Owen played for Liverpool, he lived out by Chester. He’d regularly come into training and ask how we put up with the daily bombardment of questions about the club. We found a way of coping because we knew what the city was like.

That passion made sharing success with our people all the more special. Steven would have won many more trophies had he moved to Chelsea or somewhere else but none would have tasted the same as the cups we won together.

There is a flip side to that. When results are not going to plan, as happened far too often during Steven’s 17 years, you carry a sense of guilt and responsibility. Wherever he goes, he will never have that burden or emotional attachment. Maybe this gives you an idea of how hard it is for a local lad to leave Liverpool.

Take Michael and Steve McManaman, both wonderful players who came through the ranks. They left to test themselves in Spain when they were in their prime and, as a result, are no longer loved.

Xabi Alonso and Luis Suarez, by contrast, will forever be adored, even though they left at similar points in their careers.

Fans understand that foreign players will come in, do their thing, then leave but they have never been able to accept one of their own moving.

If Steven had gone to Chelsea 10 years ago, he would probably have encountered the same problems as Owen and McManaman. Now that he is effectively a squad player, who has run himself into the ground, the reaction to his imminent departure is completely different.

I’m not sure the Manchester lads who came through under Sir Alex Ferguson at United, or local boys playing for London clubs, would be able to associate with that. United’s Class of 92, for example, were never considered the standout stars and they were always playing for winning teams.

Steven, however, has always been the one expected to rescue Liverpool, to provide inspiration in times of need. He is 34 now but the demands on him have never changed. For that reason, I think the move will be fantastic for him and his family.

Carragher consoles Gerrard after a Champions League semi-final defeat at Chelsea in 2008. The two are photographed parading the biggest trophy in club football during happier times (right) before a pre-season friendly at Wrexham three years beforehand

Owen and Steve McManaman both left for Real Madrid in their prime and would never feel the adoration Gerrard receives

Liverpool supporters are aware that foreign stars such as Luis Suarez will inevitably move on when the time is right

Gerrard strikes Liverpool's second goal in the thrilling UEFA Cup final of 2001. The Reds would win 5-4 after extra-time in Germany

Carragher passes the captain's armband to Gerrard during a Europa League fixture against Young Boys in November 2012

Gary Neville (centre) is unable to stop Gerrard smashing in his first goal against bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield in March 2001

In terms of getting more playing time, I can also see why he is leaving.

I have spoken to him on many occasions about the transition from being one of the first names on the teamsheet to having your appearances managed.

It is difficult and that, in all honesty, was the main reason I retired.

He is now missing one game in three and, in all likelihood, next season that would have risen to one in two.

Steven is not someone who would be comfortable just sitting on the bench and, in that sense, he has made the right decision.

Still, I cannot help feeling Liverpool’s hierarchy should have done more to ensure he remained at Anfield.

Surely they could have come up with an arrangement that would have benefited all parties in the short and long term?

People have been talking about Steven as being a future Liverpool manager, but it is without substance.

I would never advocate a high-profile player being given such a role on the basis of reputation, whether it is him, Thierry Henry at Arsenal or anyone else.

Gerrard felt his position could be under threat when Kenny Dalglish (centre) signed Jordan Henderson (left) and Charlie Adam (second left)

The agony on Gerrard's face is clear to see after he is shown the first red card of his career following a foul on Everton's Kevin Campbell (floored). Gerrard was sent off in the final minute after Campbell had scored the only goal of the game at Anfield in September 1999

With Liverpool losing 3-2 against West Ham in the 90th minute of the 2006 FA Cup final, Gerrard scored a 35-yard thunderbolt on the volley

Gerrard and Carragher hold the 2012 Carling Cup aloft after the Reds overcame Championship outfit Cardiff City in the final at Wembley

The two club legends pose with the Community Shield after beating Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium back in 2006

Steven has always been the one expected to rescue the team

But over the next 12 months Steven could have been given a role on the staff to combine with his playing duties.

It would have been like work experience, with him shadowing Brendan Rodgers, looking at how the academy is run — all the different aspects of the club.

At the end of the year, it might have been that Steven wasn’t at the right level to be a coach or he could have decided that coaching wasn’t for him.

But I look at what is happening with Ryan Giggs at Manchester United now and I am dismayed that Liverpool are letting that experience leave.

Yes, it has been said he can come back, but nothing is certain. Those same discussions were held before I left but time moves on, things change.

For now, Liverpool fans need to savour the next five months, as it will not become apparent what he has given until he has gone.

The pair quickly became synonymous with what Liverpool stands for as a club after rising through the ranks in the 1990s

Carragher and Gerrard (with John-Arne Riise, right) enjoyed huge success under Spanish manager Rafael Benitez (centre)

Gerrard was named PFA Young Player of the Year at the awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London in 2001

Gerrard rises above the AC Milan defence to head home Liverpool's first goal in the 2005 Champions League final - they had been 3-0 down

David Beckham (centre) looks on as Fabien Barthez is beaten by Gerrard's rocket shot as Manchester United concede the opening goal of the League Cup final in 2003. Owen grabbed the second goal with four minutes remaining at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff

Was he the best midfielder in Premier League history?

You don’t need to hear another glowing tribute from me, so let’s hand you over to his fellow professionals.

He was selected for the PFA team of the year on eight occasions — a record.

Giggs, Patrick Vieira and Henry were chosen by their peers six times; Roy Keane and Frank Lampard were included five times, Paul Scholes twice.

And where does he stand with Liverpool?

Kenny Dalglish, as an individual, is No 1 for what he did as a player, manager and ambassador but I regard Steven as the best player, not just for his ability but for the sacrifices he made.

You have to remember also that Steven stayed loyal to Liverpool for five years while they were out of the Champions League, even when he was being courted by potential winners of that tournament such as Real Madrid.

No other player with his talent would have done that.