Former Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 34 after finally succumbing to the multiple injuries that have blighted his post-Old Trafford career.
After nine trophy-laden years with United, Vidic left for Inter Milan in March of 2014 but failed to make much if any impact in Serie A as the repeated niggles gradually became all-consuming.
Having failed to make a single appearance so far this season, Inter pulped the Serbian defender’s Inter contract at the beginning of January and lo, here we are.
Breaking the news via United’s official website, Vidic said:
The time has come for me to hang up my boots. The injuries I have had in the last few years have taken their toll.
I would like to thank all the players I have played with, all the managers and staff I have worked with, and say a big ‘thank you’ to the fans for their support over the years.
And there goes one of the finest, toughest, most dependable centre-backs in Premier League history. The Riggs to Rio Ferdinand’s Murtagh.
A dying breed, lamentably.
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