Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will join the Los Angeles Galaxy after the Premier League season, confirming today he will follow David Beckham's footsteps by joining the Major League Soccer dynasty.
The 34-year-old midfielder will move in the July transfer window, arriving at mid-season in the American campaign, and try tohelp bring the Galaxy a fourth title in five seasons.
"At this stage of my career I think the timing is right to move on to a fresh challenge," Gerrard said in a video on the league website.
"I'm going to be moving to the most successful team in the United States."
Gerrard made it clear he still considers himself talented enough to contribute at a top level, a notion some with Liverpool questioned, leading him to look elsewhere.
"I still feel like a player, still know I can perform well for the next couple of years, so I want to go in to a setup with a winning mentality, a team that's used to winning and with people that also want to win in the future," Gerrard said.
"I'm not going over there for a holiday or to endear myself. I'm going over there to win."
Terms of the deal were not announced, but Gerrard is believed to have signed an 18-month contract, which British media reports suggest will be worth around A$11 million.
Gerrard said last Friday that he would leave Liverpool at the end of the current campaign, ending a 25-year association with the club that has seen him make 696 appearances and score 182 goals.
Joining Galaxy will reunite Gerrard with former Liverpool teammate Robbie Keane, the standout Irish striker who was named MLS Most Valuable Player this season and who scored the winning goal in the championship match against the New England Revolution last month.
Former England teammate Beckham, who spent five years with the Galaxy, blazed a path to late-career North American clubs that has also seen French star Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill join New York Red Bulls, Frank Lampard set to play for debuting club New York City FC later this year and Jermain Defoe move to Toronto.
Gerrard was courted by Galaxy coach Bruce Arena and team president Chris Klein before taking the new deal.
The Galaxy won their fifth MLS title in December and have a vacancy in a non-salary-capped position thanks to the retirement of long-time star Landon Donovan.
