Manchester United Football Club

• Nickname:Red Devils
• Founded:1878
• Manager:Sir Alex Ferguson

• Ground:Old Trafford
• Capacity:68174

Yorke calls time on long career

05 Sep 2009 - 08:51:52

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Former Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland player Dwight Yorke has announced his retirement from professional football.

Yorke, 37, has called time on his career after making 480 appearances in English football during which he scored 147 goals.

The Trinidad & Tobago striker won three Premier League titles during his time at Old Trafford and had reinvented himself as a midfielder at Sunderland before his release at the end of the last campaign.

"While I'm still in great shape, I'm not getting any younger. I've had the time of my life," said Yorke, who also won the Champions League with United.

"I hope people will say that I played the game in the right way with a smile on my face.

"I've been blessed really. I've played alongside some of the greatest players the Premier League has ever seen in Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Peter Schmeichel, and played for the greatest manager in Sir Alex Ferguson.

"I'll always count myself lucky. I was a boy on a beach from a little Caribbean island that got the chance to fulfil his dream of winning trophies at the highest level and captaining his country in their first ever World Cup finals."

Yorke will now start his coaching career after accepting a position as assistant manager of the Trinidad & Tobago national team.