Premiership club Rangers. He spent the majority of his playing career as a central midfielder for Liverpool, with most of that time spent as club captain, as well as captaining the England national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Gerrard was awarded the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award in 2005, and the Ballon d'Or Bronze Award. In 2009, Zinedine Zidane and Pelé said that they considered Gerrard to be the best footballer in the world. A versatile and well-rounded player, highly regarded for his leadership, Gerrard is the only footballer to score in an FA Cup Final, a League Cup Final, a UEFA Cup Final and a UEFA Champions League Final, winning on each occasion.

Born in Whiston, Merseyside, Gerrard made his senior debut for Liverpool in 1998. In 2000–01, Gerrard helped Liverpool secure an unpredicted treble of cups, and after further cup success the next season, Gerrard was given the captaincy in 2003. In 2005, Gerrard led Liverpool to a fifth European title, being named Man of the Match as Liverpool came from 3–0 down to defeat Milan in what became known as the Miracle of Istanbul. The following year, Gerrard played in the 2006 FA Cup Final, which has been called The Gerrard Final. Both finals have since become widely regarded as amongst the greatest in the history of each competition. Chosen by The Daily Telegraph as Liverpool's greatest ever player Gerrard won a total of two FA Cups, three League Cups, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup in his 17 seasons at Anfield. Despite collective and individual success, Gerrard never won the Premier League, finishing runner-up with Liverpool on three occasions. He joined Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy in 2015 where he spent one-and-a-half seasons before his retirement in 2016.

At international level, Gerrard is the fourth-most capped player in the history of the England national football team with 114 caps, scoring 21 goals. Gerrard made his international debut in 2000, and represented his country at the 2000, 2004 and 2012 UEFA European Football Championships, as well as the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, captaining the team for the latter two tournaments. He was named as the permanent England captain shortly before UEFA Euro 2012, where he was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. Gerrard won his 100th cap in 2012, becoming the sixth player to reach that milestone for England. Gerrard announced his retirement from international football in 2014.

After retiring from playing football, Gerrard became a coach in the Liverpool youth academy and managed their under-18 team during the 2017–18 season, before becoming manager of Scottish Premiership club Rangers ahead of the 2018–19 season.