Pizarro to retire in 2020

BERLIN: Veteran Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro says that he will end his playing career in 2020 at the age of 41.

Pizarro, 40, announced a one-year contract extension at Werder Bremen on Saturday, but admitted a day later that next season would be the final act of a two-decades long career in European football.

“Next season will be my last. I want to end my career in good condition,” he said at a friendly match against lower league side Papenburg. Fan favourite Pizarro is currently in his fourth spell at Bremen, whom he first joined in 1999. He has scored 197 goals in 472 Bundesliga appearances for Bremen, Bayern Munich and Cologne. A few hours after announcing his contract extension on Saturday, the Peruvian came off the bench to score a late winner in his side’s 2-1 victory over RB Leipzig.