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Steven Gerrard's first Premier League club is Aston Villa.
Aston Villa have appointed Steven Gerrard as manager on a three-and-a-half-year deal, ending his three-year reign at Rangers.
41-year-old former Liverpool captain leaves the Scottish champions after leading them to their first league title in 10 year last season.
Dean Smith was fired on Sunday following five consecutive defeats. Gerrard will replace Smith.
Villa is 16th in Premier League, two points higher than the relegation zone.
Gerrard stated, "Aston Villa has a rich history in English football, and I am tremendously proud to be its new head coach."
"In my conversations [with co-owners] Nassef [Sawiris], Wes[Edens] & the rest of the board it was evident how ambitious their plans for the club. I look forward to helping them reach their goals."
Gerrard made his first steps into senior management in 2018 with Rangers, a Scottish Premiership side. He leaves Rangers four points clear of Celtic at the top.
BBC Sport Scotland has learned that Rangers received compensation of PS4.5 million from Villa.
Ross Wilson, Rangers sporting director, stated that Steven and his backroom team have made the club undoubtedly in a better position today than it was three and a half years ago.
"We share a common desire to move Rangers forward and modernize our infrastructure, and to make Rangers win again.
"There are so many areas where we have made progress, and there is so much more to do, but I cannot stress enough how important it was to have a first-team coach with us who shared the drive and desire for high standards and to move the entire football operation forward."
Gerrard was a Liverpool player who played 710 games and won nine trophies. He also spent a season with MLS side LA Galaxy in 2015. Gerrard retired as a player in the next year.
Before joining the management team for the 2017-18 season, he was a coach at Liverpool's youth academy.
With 114 international appearances and 21 goals, Gerrard is England’s fourth-most captained player.
"Gerrard caught Our Eyes"
Gerrard will join a Villa team that has not received a Premier League point since beating Manchester United 25 September.
After the international break, his first match will be at Brighton. He will also face matches against Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Liverpool before 2021.
Christian Purslow (Villa chief executive) is familiar with him. He was previously the managing director of Liverpool.
Villa was 11th in Premier League last season under Smith. However, Villa's results began to slide after Jack Grealish's summer move to Manchester City.
The club has only 10 points from their first 11 games and is experiencing their worst losing streak since January 2017 in the Championship.
Villa has not been helped by injuries to Leon Bailey and Danny Ings, who were brought in after Grealish's departure. Emiliano Buendia, the club record signing, also failed to perform since his arrival.
Purslow stated, "Simon started his coaching career by managing and developing the Liverpool FC Academy's top players, which was a valuable experience that we value at Aston Villa."
"He made the brave decision to put himself through the rigorous and stressful environment of the Scottish Old Company. We were impressed by his subsequent success in winning the Premiership title for Glasgow Rangers.
"It was very evident in our conversations with him that Steven has coaching ambitions and philosophy which completely match those of Aston Villa."
Rangers: Farewell!
Steven Gerrard's statistics as Rangers manager
Gerrard joined Rangers on May 18, 2018, signing a four-year contract before signing a new contract for 2024.
He led Rangers to victory over Celtic in their first season as manager. They finished the league campaign nine behind their city rivals.
Gerrard won his first piece silverware as manager the following season, Rangers winning the Scottish title for 55th consecutive time. They finished 25 points ahead of Celtic.
They also beat Celtic's 107 year-old clean-sheet record and won back to back Old Firm derbies.
Gerrard stated that Rangers had "grabbed him" after his title win.
Gerrard stated that he was grateful to everyone associated with Glasgow Rangers after his departure.
"Helping them win a record-breaking 55th League title will always be a part of my heart." I wish all the best to the players, staff, and supporters for the future."
Douglas Park, Rangers chairman, said that he wanted to first thank Steven for his extraordinary efforts during the past three and a-half years at Rangers.
"He has given us all some memorable moments, not only his delivery of the Scottish Premiership title to Ibrox last year having not lost any match during the entire league campaign.
"He has brought back the credibility and good name of our club in Europe and left us in a very positive position on the pitch."
