Former Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun has retired from football at the age of 38.
The Israeli international joined the Reds from West Ham, scoring 29 goals in 134 games for the club from 2007 to 2010 before moving on to Chelsea.
His statement read:
The truth is that nothing I have experienced in my career has prepared me properly for the decision to stop playing.
The Israeli national team – I never retired from the national team because I was always ready to stand for it.
To represent my people, wherever I was, was an inseparable part of my feeling and my pride.
It is important for me to thank the fans, you were the ones who gave me love wherever I went.
I am sure that the next chapter will be challenging and no less exciting, I went with my truth and so will always keep going.
