Carragher reaffirms decision to retire

Soccer: Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has no plans to reassess his decision to retire at the end of the season despite …

Boyhood Blue but iconic Red: Jamie Carragher dejected after defeat to Everton at Goodison Park left Liverpool languishing second from bottom of the Premier League. - (Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters)
Boyhood Blue but iconic Red: Jamie Carragher dejected after defeat to Everton at Goodison Park left Liverpool languishing second from bottom of the Premier League. - (Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters)

Soccer:Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has no plans to reassess his decision to retire at the end of the season despite his recent good run in the first team.

Having spent most of the campaign on the bench, the 35-year-old has made seven successive league starts and will make his 500th Premier League appearance against Tottenham on Sunday. But that has not been enough to convince the veteran centre-back to perform a u-turn on his decision to end his 16-year career at the club in May.

“I made my decision and nothing that’s happened since has changed my mind about that,” he told the Liverpool Echo. “I’ve not had any second thoughts just because things are going well. People say because I’m playing I should carry on for another year.

“But in fact being back in the team only confirms for me that I’ve made the right decision. I want to go out on a high, proving I can still perform at that level. Obviously the previous 12 months had been difficult in terms of starting games.

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“You never lose that buzz of wanting to play every week and I’m delighted to be back in the side. I could play on for another season but the fact is the club will be buying players in my position in the summer and I can’t go back to being a substitute again.”