ALL good things must come to an end.

The day was always going to arrive when Steven Gerrard would no longer be a Liverpool player.

But I suspect most football fans thought he would retire at Anfield and not look to continue his career elsewhere.

Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a Liverpool team without Gerrard in it.

Yet, he will now leave the Reds at the end of the season.

Liverpool claim they have done all they can to keep him but the prospect of playing fewer games and gradually being phased out was not something Gerrard was prepared to accept.

At 34, the midfielder is certainly in the twilight of a stellar career but I wouldn’t describe him as over the hill.

He might not be the box-to-box midfield force he once was, but he’s still one of the best passers of a ball in the Premier League.

There are similarities here with Frank Lampard.

Not offered a contract by Chelsea at the end of last season, the 36-year-old linked up with New York City FC, Manchester City’s Major League Soccer franchise in the United States.

He was then loaned back to City, initially until this month but an arrangement now extended until the end of the season.

Lo and behold, Lampard is now playing an increasingly significant role in their Premier League title defence.

Why? Because he’s still good enough.

Gerrard looks set for LA Galaxy in the MLS, while a few Premier League clubs have, not surprisingly, showed an interest.

He retired as England captain in order to prolong his club career so he evidently feels he can still operate consistently at the top level.

Liverpool, it seems, disagree and it could yet come back to bite them.