France World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi announces retirement from football

Former France midfielder Blaise Matuidi has announced his retirement from professional football. Matuidi won the World Cup with France in 2018 and has spent the last two years of his career at Inter Miami. He has confirmed that he will be hanging up his boots for good after his contract expires on December 31.

"Football, I loved you so much. Football, you gave me so much, but the time has come to say stop," Matuidi wrote on Twitter.

"I've achieved my dreams as a child, as a man. It's with a lump in my throat that I'm turning the page now."

A tough ball-winner with great stamina and good passing skills, the midfielder also had an eye for goal when he pushed forward. He won four French league titles with Paris Saint-Germain and three straight in Italy with Juventus.

Matuidi started four of France's seven games in Russia four years ago, including the final, in



which Didier Deschamps' side defeated Croatia 4-2 to win the country's second World Cup.

He was also a member of the squad that advanced to the Euro 2016 final, only to be defeated by Portugal in Paris. Matuidi retired from international duty in October 2019, having scored nine goals in 84 appearances for his country.

The 35-year-old also had great success at club level, winning five league titles at PSG before adding three more at Juventus.

His move to Inter Miami in 2020 signalled the end of his time in European football, and he has now concluded his illustrious career.

He was without a club this year after spending two seasons in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami. Matuidi previously played for Troyes and Saint-Etienne before signing with PSG in 2011. In 295 games for PSG, he scored 33 goals and was twice named to the French league's team of the season.