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Brazilian legend Romario, 42, announces retirement

15/04/2008

Former Brazil striker and 1994 World Cup winner Romario has announced his retirement from football at the age of 42.

One of the legends of the game in South American, Romario scored 56 goals for the international side in 74 appearances.

His star-studded career included stints with a number of top clubs on various continents, including Barcelona, Valencia and PSV Eindhoven in Europe; Vasco de Gama, Flamengo and Fluminese in South America; Miami FC in North America; Al-Sadd in Asia; and Adelaide United in Australia's A-League.

He celebrated scoring his 1,000th goal in May last year while playing for Vasco de Gama against Sport Recife from the penalty spot, and claims to be only the second man to achieve the milestone behind fellow Brazilian Pele.

However, his claim has been questioned by many who claim Romario should not count goals scored at junior level and in friendlies and testimonial matches.

"Officially I'm not playing any more. I've stopped," he said today.

"My time is up. Everything has been a lot of fun."

Later in Romario's career he came under scrutiny after testing positive for the anti-baldness drug finasteride, which is a banned substance as it is a known masking agent for steroids.

However, in announcing his retirement he said his entire experience in professional football had been "very positive".

"To be honest, I'm stopping because I don't see myself in any shape to continue playing," he explained.

"I haven't played since November, I've put on three or four kilos since then and, at this age, it's difficult to get back to fitness."

It is unclear whether Romario will continue to be involved in coaching, although he has previously expressed a desire to retain links with the game in any future career.