England's [Images] Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have signed new deals with Liverpool that will keep them at the club until 2009, the European champions said on Friday.

Captain and midfielder Gerrard, who only last week looked on the verge of leaving the club for Chelsea, and central defender Carragher signed extensions to their existing contracts, Liverpool said on their official website.

"It's a massive weight off my mind," Gerrard said. "Over the last twelve months there has been a lot of speculation about my future and it hasn't helped my football.

"It's nice to sign a four-year deal with no clauses to make sure this situation doesn't happen again," he told the website.

Gerrard appeared set to walk out on his boyhood club when contractual talks broke down last week and Premier League champions Chelsea made an offer, reported in the media at 32 million pounds ($56 million), for the midfield dynamo which Liverpool rejected.

Real Madrid [Images] were also reported to be interested in the 25-year-old midfielder who is a key member of Sven-Goran Eriksson's England team.

Gerrard, however, realised that he did not after all want to leave Liverpool, who he led to victory over AC Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul six weeks ago.

"Next season you'll see a Steven Gerrard who has got a clear mind and who is focused on his football. I'll be a better player next season," he said.

"I think the speculation has affected me, though not too much because I think at the right times I've still pulled out the big performances.

"It'll be different over the next four years because that speculation has gone and won't come back�

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"I feel ready to move into the prime years of my career. I'm only 25 and I think over the next few years you'll see me playing my best football and I hope to lead this club to more success and more silverware."

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Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said in midweek that Gerrard's new deal could make him one of English soccer's highest-paid players, earning an estimated 100,000 pounds ($175,500) a week.

Parry said that in a series of telephone calls he had apologised to Liverpool-born Gerrard for any misunderstandings about the club's desire to keep their talisman.

Gerrard scored one goal and made another against AC Milan when Liverpool rallied from 3-0 down to reach 3-3 and a penalty shootout victory after extra time in the Champions League final.

The 27-year-old Carragher, also a Liverpudlian, has also spent all of his career at Liverpool.

"This is the best club in the world with the best fans, so I'm very proud to be a Liverpool player for the next four years and hopefully even longer," Carragher said.

"We've had some fantastic times recently and winning the Champions League was the biggest achievement of my career.

"Now we're going to make winning the Premiership title our top priority."

The five-time European Cup winners will begin the defence of the title against Welsh part-timers TNS in the first leg of their Champions League first round qualifier on Wednesday.

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