Galaxy honors Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool legacy in hometown paper ad

The body hadn’t even gotten cold before the Galaxy crashed a mourning Liverpool with a full-page newspaper ad honoring local legend Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard, a Liverpool native who grew up rooting for Liverpool before going on to captain the English Premier League club during a 17-year career in which he played for no other team, made his final EPL appearance Sunday in the Reds’ 6-1 loss to Stoke City. The midfielder, who turns 35 on Sunday, will join the Galaxy when the summer transfer window opens in July.

But the team couldn’t wait that long to welcome its latest international superstar.

The ad, which appeared in the Liverpool Echo, features Gerrard hoisting the 2005 Champions League trophy after his second-half goal started Liverpool back from a 3-0 deficit to a victory in penalty kicks in Istanbul.

“Ten years ago today, on one night in Istanbul, a leader became a legend,” the ad reads above a Galaxy logo. “For the last 17 years, Liverpool has backed its loyal captain. To the club that set the example, from a city honored to carry that legacy. Thank you.”

Gerrard also said good-bye to Liverpool in a special way, scoring his team’s only goal in Sunday’s loss. It was the 120th goal of his EPL career and his 186th in all competition for Liverpool, ranking him fifth on the club’s all-time list.