My granddad used to mind me at weekends, and if the game was on, and you wanted to get across the room, you had to crawl under the TV. So I've always been a Liverpool fan, and meeting Steven Gerrard was massive for me. He knew who I was before we'd even said hello!
For me, I can't see Liverpool without him because he's just been there since I was a kid. I had him on the back of my shirt. He's always been on the team every time I've watched Liverpool. It's going to be really weird next season, a Steven Gerrard-less Liverpool side.
I have played against the big England players - Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole. I never like to point out somebody because they are all great players with experience.
I even used to play as Liverpool on the PlayStation on 'FIFA' when I was 18 or 19, as Steven Gerrard, Sami Hyypia, Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen, and Xabi Alonso.
During my time playing for England we had Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes. They were world-class players playing for Chelsea, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, all legends of the game.
Many great teams have players who have come through the youth system or have been at the club for a long time as their captains. I'm thinking of Steven Gerrard at Liverpool, John Terry at Chelsea, Raul at Real Madrid, as well as Puyol at Barcelona and Gary Neville at Man United.
At Liverpool, I studied Steven Gerrard all the time and improved my game that way. Here, I absorb all I can from Iniesta and Messi.
Steven Gerrard has always been my idol. He's a leader. You get excited when he gets on the ball. You know something's going to happen.
Steven Gerrard doesn't play because his name is Steven Gerrard. He plays because of what he brings in terms of performances. If that wasn't the case, he wouldn't play. He is as good as he was, and I have learned a lot from him.
As a player, you get to the stage where you realise that you are not 25 anymore - and can't play the way you used to. The intelligent players adapt - and Steven Gerrard has the ability to do that. He is an excellent passer of the ball, possesses an intelligent football brain, and has great vision.
I am a big fan of the Gallagher brothers. At Liverpool, they came a few times; they are friends of Steven Gerrard. It was nice to meet them. When I was in Spain, I couldn't speak English, so I couldn't understand the lyrics. When I came to England, I started studying music and trying to understand what my favourite songs said.
It's just such an honour to be spoken about by Steven Gerrard in such a way, that I might also become such a great player for Liverpool. He is an icon, one of my personal football heroes.
Now in the U.S.A., a lot of great players come after their careers in Europe, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, great players.
I only worked with Rafa Benitez for a short time, but he's a great manager, and he showed it from the first moment he came. He worked with the players and made us a better team. He's a good person, always trying to help players out.
I've met lots of footballers like Alan Shearer, David Beckham, and Steven Gerrard. I don't really get starstruck because I just think they're another footballer like me; they just get paid a lot more.
I said to myself & to my coleagues at Melwood that I'd probably never play for a better club with a better players than Liverpool ever again, Then I went to Real Madrid & in 2009 we met Liverpool in the CL first knock-out round. Liverpool beat us 5-0 on aggregate. I wasn't happy because my team had lost but I was happy with my promise. I did NOT play for a better club with a better players than LIVERPOOL