Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is sticking to his decision to retire at the end of the season.

Carragher is reluctant to overstay his welcome at Anfield, with it important for him to bow out at the top.

He told the Daily Mirror: "I'd been thinking for a while: How do you get out? How do you finish with Liverpool? And a quote I'd read years ago from a foreign player stuck with me: 'Leave the football before football leaves you'.

"I've always had that in the back of my mind. Especially as I've been at Liverpool all of my life and I never want to let the club or supporters down.

"I'm not stupid. New players will come in and at my age I could be back on the bench next season. There might even be games where I don't make the bench. Imagine walking around Anfield in a suit on a match day when you're fit to play.

"Of course there will be things I miss, like the great camaraderie in the dressing room after a good result, but I won't miss the bit where you've lost the game and you're devastated."