Steven Gerrard retired from international football today and while many members of the Twitteratti used the #ThankYouSteven hashtag to express their gratitude, some had other ideas…
The Liverpool skipper announced his decision to step down from international duty today after 114 caps and 21 goals in an England career that began with a debut against Ukraine in 2000 on the day after his 20th birthday.
Gerrard scored 21 times for England and represented his country at six major tournaments despite missing out on the 2002 World Cup because of injury. He captained England on 38 separate occasions and only David Beckham (115) and Peter Shilton (125) have appeared for England more times than the 34-year old.
Gerrard will continue to work with the FA in “a high profile ambassadorial role” but having confirmed that he has played his last game in an England jersey, plenty of people were keen to show their appreciation for Stevie G via the #ThankYouSteven hashtag on Twitter this afternoon.
Unsurprisingly, however, there were others who used the hashtag to have a little fun at his expense. The below tweets contain a little from Column A and a little from Column B and a couple of tributes from players who have faced him over the years…
Gerrard: It’s a dream every time you put on the armband. I’m very proud to say I captained my country #ThankYouSteven pic.twitter.com/yYHphyLzWM
— England (@england) July 21, 2014
#ThankYouSteven pic.twitter.com/2SEYJuuwZH
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) July 21, 2014
Thank God Gerrard has announced his international retirement. This means he can play longer for us! #ThankYouSteven
— PenaltyPoolHampton (@TheRedmen_) July 21, 2014
#ThankYouSteven https://t.co/RxL4RLNfBE
— Andrew Thomas (@andi_thomas) July 21, 2014
Stevie Gerrard, fantastic servant for his country. Correct decision made today. Never quite produced at the frequency he did for LFC.
— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) July 21, 2014
Steven Gerrard has done the right thing. He’s one of my favourite players ever and I look forward to seeing him continue for Liverpool
— Secret Footballer (@TSF) July 21, 2014
#ThankYouSteven For having the tactical and positional awareness of a goat.
— Kick Arse (@kickarseHD) July 21, 2014
#ThankYouSteven for making Jermaine Jenas look pretty good at international level
— Billie (@Billie_T) July 21, 2014
