Former LFC player Robbie Keane announces retirement

Previous Liverpool FC forward Robbie Keane today announces his retirement from 23yr playing career

Keane has played for a variety of higher league teams including Wolves, Tottenham, Inter Milan, Leeds, Liverpool and LA Galaxy, as well as having captained his country for a decade, scoring 325 goals in 737 appearances for 10 different clubs.

Mr Keane announced "Today, after 23 wonderful years, I am formally announcing my retirement as a professional footballer".

"Playing and captaining my country has been the highlight of my career,'' he said.

Keane arrived in England with Wolves in 1997 and moved on to Coventry for £6million after two seasons in the first team. He later progressed to Inter Milan for a hearty £13million and Leeds (£12m) before he spent six years at Tottenham.

"From Crumlin United, around the world, to the likes of Milan, London and Los Angeles, I could never have imagined the path my football life would take. It has exceeded all the hopes I had as a football-mad boy growing up in Dublin.''

Refusing to leave football totally behind, Keane has been appointed as Mick McCarthy's assistant. Mr McCarthy is the Republic of Ireland's new manager, and will have Keane work alongside Terry Connor following the recent departure of Martin O'Neill.

In regards to his hometown playing career, Keane said: "I enjoyed every moment of the most incredible journey with the Ireland team over and as I have said many times before, words cannot express how proud I am to be Irish.''

Liverpool FC paid over £20m to sign Keane from Tottenham in 2008.

Following loans at Celtic and West Ham he relocated his family to Los Angeles, where he spent "five hugely successful and rewarding years, both on and off the field, with LA Galaxy''.

Keane added: "To all those who believed in me, supported me and picked me up when I needed a hand, you can never know how much that has all meant. It was an honour to represent you".