Former Chelsea, Manchester City, West Ham and England midfielder Frank Lampard has announced his retirement from football at 38.
Lampard, who had most recently played for New York City in the MLS, had been without a club since the autumn.
“After 21 incredible years, I have decided that now is the right time to finish my career as a professional footballer,” Lampard said. “Whilst I have received a number of exciting offers to continue playing at home and abroad, at 38 I feel now is the time to begin the next chapter in my life.”
While Lampard didn’t elaborate on what that next chapter may be, he has recently done some stints as a pundit on TV and has been taking his coaching badges.
The midfielder started out at West Ham – where his father was assistant manager at the time – making 148 appearances for them between 1995 and 2001, scoring 24 goals.
But it was after his move to Chelsea that Lampard really excelled. In 13 years, he made 429 appearances and scored 147 goals for the club, and won 3 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 1 Champions League and 1 Europa League.
After that, he moved to New York City, but was loaned back to Manchester City, where he made 32 appearances and scored 6 goals. After going to New York, he made 29 appearances in 2 injury-affected seasons, scoring 15 goals.
He stands 4th on the all-time list of PL scorers with 177 and 3rd on the list of appearance makers (607).
Internationally, he played on 106 occasions for England, scoring 29 goals.