Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has revealed that he would not have joined Los Angeles Galaxy had the Reds offered him a player-coach role this season.
The 35-year-old midfielder brought the curtain down on his 18-year stint at Anfield at the end of last season, having announced his deal to join the MLS giants in January.
Manager Brendan Rodgers's assistant Colin Pascoe and first-team coach Mike Marsh were both let go by Liverpool over the summer, and Gerrard says that he would have balanced one of those roles with his playing career had he known.
"What would have kept me at Liverpool into this season was the chance of shadowing Brendan Rodgers and his staff as well as playing," he told the Daily Mail. "Those ideas were only mentioned to me after I had announced I was leaving.
"Liverpool replaced coaches Colin Pascoe and Mike Marsh in the summer, so they were looking for a new No.2, or No.3 or No.4. I would have been tailor-made to fill one of these roles, as well as making myself available as a squad player.
"I could have been a good squad player, a good sub, as well as getting management experience that money can't buy."
Earlier this week, MLS commissioner Don Garber dismissed the idea of the ex-England captain re-joining the Merseysiders on loan in January.