Should Steven Gerrard regret staying at Liverpool his entire career?

Events in the last fortnight have brought Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool career sharply into focus.

First, he openly said that he would play on next season whether it was at Liverpool or not.

That was the first real indication Gerrard might be open to leaving Anfield if a new contract could not be agreed.

However, possibly the bigger shock was Brendan Rodgers’ decision to leave his captain on the bench for the recent Champions League game at the Bernabeu against European champions Real Madrid.

Admittedly, Gerrard was one of seven changes from the side that lost at Newcastle in their previous League game.But this was Steven Gerrard, a Liverpool icon and the club’s talisman for more than a decade.

The heroics of Istanbul and the Millennium Stadium may be behind him, but he is still a hugely influential figure at Anfield.

Gerrard had spoken passionately ahead of the home game against Real Madrid three weeks ago about how much he had missed the Champions League in the last few years. And in reality, a player of his stature should have been competing amongst world football’s elite.

Instead, his European exposure in recent years has amounted to the likes of Unirea Urziceni, Rabotnicki, Gomel and Young Boys Berne. It was for the chance to play again at a venue like the Bernabeu that Gerrard has continued to give his all for Liverpool.

At 34, the Reds skipper cannot play every game. But Rodgers chose their most high-profile match of the season so far, away to the European Champions, to give Gerrard a rest. Their poor form has meant that he’s been needed for every single Premier League, with the manager unable to trust his new signings sufficiently for home games against Aston Villa, West Brom and Hull.

In the summer of 2005, Gerrard could have walked away from his boyhood club as a Champions League winner. He could have signed for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, and he would have surely have won a League title, the one major club honour that has eluded him. He might even have collected another European Cup or two.

But he threw his lot in with Liverpool in an attempt to bring sustained success back to the red half of Merseyside. In 2007, they were runners-up in the Champions League, and they were just beaten to the Premier League title by Manchester United two years later. But summer 2009 marked the beginning of the end for Rafa Benitez’s team.

Xabi Alonso left for Real Madrid, and he would subsequently be followed out of Anfield at a later date by Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres. These three were kingpins in Benitez’s side. But they saw the warning signs on Merseyside, while Gerrard loyally remained. Since then, the trophy hauls of the various players speak volumes.

Between them, Alonso, Mascherano and Torres have won three League titles, four domestic cups, three Champions Leagues and the Europa League. Gerrard has a solitary League Cup winners’ medal.

The Scouser’s one-club loyalty has been commendable in the modern age, and it’s often compared to Ryan Giggs at Manchester United. But Gerrard has arguably been more loyal. It was a no-brainer for Giggs to stay at Old Trafford as they fought for the title and the Champions League almost every season under Sir Alex Ferguson. In the last few years of his career, Giggs knew he wouldn’t be needed for every match. But when called upon, he could still make a major impact, and medals would be collected at the end of a season.

Gerrard has never had that luxury. A fairer comparison for him is with Roma star, Francesco Totti. Roma will never be as fashionable as the northern giants of Italy or one of Europe’s super-elite. But the boyhood Roman has remained and is still going strong at 38. One League title and a handful of cups is a pretty meagre medal return, although he was part of Italy’s World Cup-winning squad in 2006.

Gerrard’s Liverpool burden was eased by the arrival of Luis Suarez, and the Uruguayan’s sheer brilliance coupled with Gerrard’s influence on the younger players almost swept the Reds to their first League title for 24 years last season.

The cruel irony is that Gerrard’s slip against Chelsea in April was the single biggest factor in why they were caught by Manchester City. The triple effect of that moment Suarez’s summer departure and the underwhelming start by the host of new arrivals this season might have convinced the former England captain that his chance has gone forever.

Whenever he does quit Liverpool, the man from Huyton will leave a massive void. But when Gerrard looks back, will he wish he’d swapped those individual highs, the great goals and one-man shows for more sustained team glory?