Jamie Carragher wanted to quit Liverpool during season after being left feeling 'embarrassed'
Jamie Carragher has shared how he was close to hanging up his boots midway through his final Liverpool season, before manager Brendan Rodgers provided him with a storybook ending.
The Liverpool legend and current pundit played an impressive tally of nearly 750 matches for the club, placing him just behind top appearance-maker Steven Gerrard. Carragher, who joined the Anfield ranks at just nine years of age, decided the 2012/13 season at 35 would be his swansong.
As his tenure with the Reds drew to an end, Carragher admitted feeling a tinge of embarrassment at not being a regular starter and even contemplated an earlier retirement than planned.
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However, Rodgers, now leading Celtic, granted Carragher the ultimate finale by ensuring he returned to Liverpool's starting eleven. His final appearance came in March 2013 against QPR at Anfield, where he was celebrated with a rapturous standing ovation when subbed off in the 87th minute.
Recounting his career on the Stick to Football podcast brought to you by Sky Bet, Carragher divulged, "The start of every season, my target was to play 50 games," highlighting his remarkable run over 10 years, where he consistently hit above 50 appearances per season except for the time sidelined by a leg break.
He explained his drive, stating, "I played every three days, that was my mentality and if I haven't of done that, in my mid-20s, I would have left. There was no way I could have accepted being sub, or building up to a game and you're not involved."
"It got to a stage at the end where I thought I'm not going to leave Liverpool at the age of 34, I want to be a one-club man, I'll put up with this for 18 months. But, I was embarrassed
"The worst bit was the day after a game, we might train, like the subs and a few of the kids. There's nothing wrong with that because players come down and you're passing experience."
"You'll see the other lads warming down and stretching. You know what it's like, a manager and staff are all over the first team players, and rightly so, and you're just thinking, 'what am I doing?
"I nearly finished halfway through a season with Brendan Rodgers, and he said, 'no, just stick with it' and he ended up putting me back in the team. I played the last 10 or 12 games of the season it was a brilliant way to finish."
"Probably most players at my age finish [their careers] sat in the stands I was playing every week for Liverpool. We had a great team, we finished seventh, but I did well so I didn't embarrass myself, so people said, 'why don't you carry on? ' I said, 'this is the best time to go, I'm playing, not embarrassing myself, get out now'."