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25th May 2017

Steven Gerrard singles out current Liverpool player he wishes he’d played with

Reds fans would have enjoyed a season or two of this

Darragh Murphy

Steven Gerrard played with his fair share of Liverpool talent.

Throughout his 17-year Reds career, the midfield legend fed balls into Luis Suarez, struck up a terrifying relationship with Fernando Torres and partnered Xabi Alonso in the centre of the park.

Gerrard pulled on the red jersey again this week, when he featured in a 3-0 victory over Sydney FC in a post-season friendly, and he lined out alongside a current Liverpool player who really impressed him.

The 36-year-old revealed that he wishes he’d had the chance to play competitively with Roberto Firmino, who moved to Anfield just a matter of weeks after Gerrard made his final appearance for the Merseyside club.

“To play with Firmino, especially, was an absolute pleasure,” Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo.

“I would have loved to have played with him for a couple of years.

“He’s a very intelligent footballer. He’s on that same wavelength – he sees things.

“There are players and there are levels and he’s absolutely top level.”

Playing alongside the Brazilian was not the only aspect of the game that Gerrard enjoyed.

He maintains that he “loved every second of it” and admitted that he doesn’t consider any game a friendly when he’s representing his boyhood club.

“Every time you get the opportunity to put the red shirt back on, you never turn it down,” Gerrard continued.

“This was obviously a bit special coming out here to give a bit back to our amazing fan base. To play for Jurgen and be around the team was fantastic.

“There’s no such thing as a friendly when you’ve got a Liverpool shirt on. I’m the same whatever type of game it is – I just give it what I’ve got and give it my best.

“All the lads were professional. They are coming off the back of a very long season. They could have easily switched off but with a manager as demanding as Jurgen there was no chance of that happening.”