Rio Ferdinand announces retirement from professional football

No longer will the defensive talents of Rio Ferdinand grace the pitches of the Premier League.

Ferdinand, 36, officially hung up his cleats once and for all on Saturday, bringing an end to a phenomenal 20-year career.

Ferdinand's adventures through the Premier League and European football include six Premier League titles, one Champions League title, and one FA Cup honour. He made the announcement by reading a statement live on BT Sport.

"After 18 years as a professional footballer, I now feel it's the right time for me to retire from the game that I love," the statement read.

"As a 12-year-old boy, kicking around a football on the Friary Estate in Peckham, I never dreamt that I would play for my boyhood club West Ham, captain Leeds United, win the Champions League with Manchester United, or rejoin my first manager Harry Redknapp at Queens Park Rangers.

"I will always regard the 81 times that I played for England, with immense pride. These are all treasured memories that will last a lifetime."

After starting his professional career at West Ham at the age of 18, Ferdinand joined Leeds in 2000 and spent nearly two seasons at Elland Road before arriving at United, where he carved out 13 successful years in what was the climax of his career. He holds 504 Premier League appearances to his name following the 2014-15 campaign, which he spent at QPR.

Following the announcement, there was an inevitable outpouring of praise from the players that featured alongside - and against - Ferdinand throughout his career, as well as from those who watched him command backlines through the television screen.