Former Chelsea and Crystal Palace defender Gary Cahill has decided to hang his football foot after he officially announced his retirement from the game.

Cahill in a statement on Wednesday morning revealed that he has enjoyed huge success in football and has given his best, but its time for a new chapter in his life to begin.

The full statement reads; 

“Football is a game that has given me so much enjoyment and success and as I make the decision to hang up my boots I can honestly say I gave it everything I had.

I’ve achieved things I once dreamt of, creating some incredible memories. From amazing highs like winning the Champions League and Premier League, to the privilege of captaining my country and Chelsea in an FA Cup winning team will remain with me forever.

I’ve also made some fantastic friendships with people across the football world, from teammates, managers and the unsung heroes behind the scenes, I just want to say a massive thank you.

Taking the decision to stop playing is not an easy one. I’ve spent 20 years training every day, putting in the work to be in the best possible shape for matchday to help the teams I’ve played for be successful.

I’ve had time to consider my options and after much deliberation and reflection I feel now is the time to move on to the next stage of my career.

A special thank you must go to my amazing family who have supported me and been there every step of the way. I now have the opportunity to spend some quality time with them which is something I’m looking forward to.

Beyond that, football will always be part of who I am and what I love so this is just the end of this chapter. For me it’s important to look forwards not backwards as a new chapter in my life begins.

Thank you 🙏https://t.co/vsOB5m4fLZ pic.twitter.com/m2YSdNBPk9

— Gary Cahill (@GaryJCahill) November 16, 2022

Gary Cahill became the third former Chelsea player to recently quit playing football after former Super Eagles star – John Mikel Obi and Brazilian star – Ramires Santos.

𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕? 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒙!