Andrea Pirlo has announced his retirement from football
His New York City FC side were knocked out of the MLS Cup play-offs at the weekend, and with that the Italian midfielder called time on his illustrious career.
He made 116 international appearances and spent the bulk of his career with Milan, but it was his five-year spell at Juventus between 2011 and 2016 for which he'll be most fondly remembered. They posted a nice little tribute video earlier...
#GrazieMaestro 🏳️🏴@Pirlo_official pic.twitter.com/S0XYPcZLcN
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) November 6, 2017
And here's a statement from the man himself.
“Last match in MLS. As my time in NYFC comes to an end I would like to say a few words. I want to thank everybody for the kindness and support they have shown me in this incredible city.
“Thank you to the amazing supporters, thank you to the coaching staff, and everybody that works behind the scenes, thank you to my team-mates.
“Not only my adventure in NY comes to an end but my journey as a football player as well.
“That is why I would like to take the opportunity to thank my family and my children for the support and love they have always given me, every team that I had the honour to play for, every team-mate I have been pleased to play alongside, all the people that made my career so incredible and last but not least, all the fans around the world that always showed me support.
“You will always be on my side and in my heart.”
Legend? Or just over-fetishised by the latter day football hipsters? Probably somewhere in between, I'd say.
