US Edition 
Liverpool will benefit from Steven Gerrard's England retirement, says Brendan Rodgers
Manager Brendan Rodgers says he knows how much captaining England means to Steven Gerrard but that 'Liverpool is everything to him'
Brendan Rodgers says England’s loss will be Liverpool’s gain following the international retirement of Steven Gerrard.
The Liverpool captain consulted his club manager prior to announcing he was giving up the England armband. Champions League commitments were uppermost in the 34-year-old’s mind when he took the decision.
“I spent a lot of time talking to Steven on it so I know how much it means to him to captain his country,” Rodgers said. “But Liverpool is everything to him and there is not doubt it will make him fresher and at his optimum level. It brings an end to a great international career.”
Rodgers was speaking ahead of Liverpool’s first tour fixture in the United States. They face Roma at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, on Wednesday.
Liverpool hope to have concluded Loïc Rémy’s medical by then. The French striker has arrived in Boston to complete his £8 million signing.
Rodgers would not be drawn on imminent arrivals, but believes that those he has purchased will add depth to his squad. “Rickie Lambert is a pleasure to work with. He will offer us something different,” Rodgers said.
“He is really strong in the air but has a great touch. Adam Lallana is a wonderful talent but in this short period I realise what a good man he is, too. He is a great human being. He left a great club in Southampton but in the short time here he has been fantastic.
“Emre Can is an exciting young player. The only positions he never played for Bayer Leverkusen were in goal and centre forward. And Lazar Markovic is an exciting player. He can beat people one on one, is good in a duel but also works hard going back towards his own goal which is important.”
Rodgers hopes the revamping of his squad will go some way to compensating for the loss of Luis Suárez.
“The philosophy does not change but the personnel might,” he said. “You can’t replace him like for like but others can bring different facets to our game.”