Carragher reveals retirement plan

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has revealed he may have less than two years left playing football before he retires from the game.

The 33-year-old made his first team debut for the Reds in January 1997 and has amassed 676 appearances, second only to Ian Callaghan in terms of games played for the Anfield side.

Carragher admits he is considering retirement in the next couple of years and has taken steps towards becoming a manager to stay in football.

Speaking at the Leaders in Football conference in London, Carragher said: “You want to try to get as much out of (football). The time will come in the next 12, 18 months, maybe two years, (but) not at the moment.”

“I’ve taken my first steps to coaching and the B licence. We all love the game, you want to stay involved in the game.”

Carragher added that he has never been tempted to move away from Anfield and is delighted the Reds have been challenging for major trophies throughout his career.

“I don’t think anyone would fancy taking me abroad. I’m lucky the club I play for aspires to win the biggest things. There’s a duty almost,” he said.

“Not once can I remember a club showing any interest. I’ve never picked up a Sunday paper and seen my name linked with anyone.”

Carragher reflected on his decision to retire from international football, only to then come out of it for the World Cup in 2010.

He said: “It was a decision I made for the club and myself. I didn’t feel I let the country down. Also, I couldn’t get a game for England.”

“It gave me a chance to play at one of the highest levels of the game. I thought my career was on a nosedive. We had a disastrous season. (I thought) I’m going to make a selfish decision here.”

The centre-back also feels it is time for goal-line technology to be brought into the game as he believes it could be crucial for deciding major games.

He concluded: “It’s got to be brought in just for the goal-line. How many times does it happen? Each team may get a few a season.”

“You’ve never going to get everything 100% right. But if you can get another 20-30%.We should be setting the bar for that. Football is the biggest game in the world so we should have the best technology.”