Spain’s record scorer Villa retires after 19-year career

TOKYO: Star striker David Villa, Spain’s top goalscorer, Wednesday announced he will retire next month, ending a glittering career in which he won the World Cup, European Championships and Champions League.

The 37-year-old Vissel Kobe striker said he will call it a day at the end of the 2019 J-League season after a 19-year career that took in Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Valencia while accumulating 98 caps for his country.

“I have decided to end my professional career and that I have decided to retire,” Villa told reporters in Kobe, his voice occasionally breaking with emotion.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. This is the result of discussions I had with my family and people around me... I wanted to retire from football, not be forced to retire from football,” he said.

Villa will become an investor in Queensboro FC, a new franchise based in the New York district of Queens that will play in the second tier of US football.

“Even though I will no longer be on the pitch, I will continue to be involved in football in other ways and will continue to contribute to the football world,” he said.

Villa played in three World Cups and was a member of the Spanish side that lifted the trophy in 2010 and won the European Championships in 2008.