Campbell sad to call time on 73-cap career

Campbell achieved most of his success in the red and white of Arsenal (AP)

The former Arsenal, Tottenham and England defender Sol Campbell has announced his retirement from football. Campbell, 37, was released by Newcastle at the end of last season and has not been able to secure a new deal with another club, partly because of injury.

"It was a very hard decision. It's hard to let go when you have been a top sportsman for a long, long time," Campbell said. "To say that I am not going to play professional football again is difficult because I've had a long time at the top.

"I had a couple of offers to carry on – one from a Premier League team, and another from a team who have just been promoted to the Premier League, but I had a foot injury and by the time I'd recovered from that people had already moved on."

Campbell, who won 73 England caps, rose through the Tottenham ranks before making a controversial move to bitter rivals Arsenal in 2001.