Tokyo -
The Spanish forward David Villa, 37 years old, top scorer of the Spanish national football team, announced on Wednesday in Kobe, Japan, that at the end of the season he will put an end to his football career, during which he won the World Cup, the European Championship, and the Champions League.
Villa, who plays for the Japanese club Vissel Kobe, will retire after the end of the Japanese football championship.
During his successful 19-year career, Villa played for Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Valencia, and played 98 matches for his country.
"I have decided to end my professional career and retire," Villa said to reporters in Kobe, his voice breaking with emotion.
"I have been thinking about it for a long time. This is the result of the conversations I had with my family and the people around me. I wanted to retire from football, not be forced to do it," Villa added.
"Although I will no longer be on the field, I will continue to be involved in football in other ways and continue to contribute to the world of football," he explained.
Villa, who played for New York City from 2014 to 2018, will invest in Queensboro FC, a new franchise based in Queens, New York, that will compete in the second division of American football.
Villa played in three World Cups and was a member of the Spanish team that lifted the World Cup in 2010 and won the European Championship in 2008.
He scored 59 goals for Spain, being the all-time top scorer for La Roja.
The trophies won with clubs include the 2010-11 Champions League, the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, the 2011 Club World Cup, and two La Liga titles in 2010-11 and 2012-13 with Barcelona.
Villa scored the third goal for Barcelona at Wembley in the 3-1 victory over Manchester United in the 2010-11 Champions League final.
He won a third Spanish league title with Atletico Madrid in his only season there in 2013-14 after leaving Barcelona.
After leaving Atletico, Villa played in Major League Soccer for the New York City team, where he scored 80 goals in 124 appearances.
In Vissel Kobe, he played alongside Spanish legend Andres Iniesta and German forward Lukas Podolski, but the presence of aging foreign stars has done little to bring success to the ambitious Japanese club.
Vissel Kobe currently languishes in tenth place in the J-League after 31 matches, the same position they finished in last year.
Villa has scored 12 goals in 26 appearances for Vissel.
He is expected to play three more matches in the J-League, as well as the semifinals and finals of the Emperor's Cup.
His farewell ceremony will take place on December 7th, the day of his last J-League match. (D)