The outgoing captain, who played his final game at Anfield at the weekend, has been recognised for 17 years of service to the Merseyside club ahead of his summer exit
Agencies
LONDON, MAY 20
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has been handed the Outstanding Achievement award at the club's end-of-season gala, while Philippe Coutinho made a clean sweep with both the Player of the Year and the Players’ Player of the Year accolades.
Gerrard will play his final match for the Reds against Stoke City on Sunday, ahead of a summer move to LA Galaxy.
It will bring down the curtain on 17 years of service to the Merseyside club, during which time he has won two FA Cups, three League Cups, the Uefa Cup and the Champions League.
Gerrard bade an emotional farewell to Anfield on Saturday when he walked out for his final game at the famous stadium, a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
The 34-year-old received a guard of honour from both sets of players and was greeted with mosaics in the stands, as well as a number of flags and banners in the Kop End.Speaking at the awards ceremony on Tuesday night, though, he was keen to divert attention to Coutinho: "I'm bored of talking about myself. This is Coutinho's night: he's the next big thing and I hope he's here for many years."
The 22-year-old, who has scored five goals and registered five assists in 34 Premier League appearances this season, fended off competition from Raheem Sterling, Martin Skrtel, Jordan Henderson and Simon Mignolet to win the Players’ Player of the Year.
“This for me is special, it means a lot to me to receive this from Stevie Gerrard, I want to say thank you to me team-mates,” he said.
The Brazilian also won the award for ‘Performance of the Year’ for his display in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Manchester City in March, while his long-range strike in the 2-0 win over Southampton in February was also voted as the club’s Goal of the Year.
Earlier in the evening Sterling, who will tell Liverpool he wants to follow Gerrard out of Anfield this summer, was booed by a section of supporters as he claimed the Young Player of the Year award.
Last year, Brendan Rodgers won the Outstanding Achievement award for guiding the club to second place in the Premier League and a return to the Champions League.
Old foe Ballack hails 'gentleman' Gerrard
Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack paid tribute to departing Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard on Monday, describing him as a "gentleman" who was "a joy to play against".
Gerrard, 34, played his final home game for Liverpool in Saturday's 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace and is expected to make his 710th and last appearance for the club at Stoke City this weekend before joining the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Ballack crossed swords with Gerrard several times during his four years at Chelsea and was also on the receiving end of a 25-yard Gerrard rocket in England's 5-1 rout of Germany in a World Cup qualifier in Munich in 2001.
"When a player is able to play for such a long time just for one club, and a great club like Liverpool, it's an outstanding career," Ballack said in London during an event for Champions League sponsors MasterCard.
"It was always a joy to play against him, and he's not just a great footballer. He always had great behaviour on the pitch, which is nice to see. He was a gentleman on the pitch and with all his qualities, when you went to Anfield Road to face him, you knew there would always be fair play on the pitch, and that was nice."
