Phil Neville announces retirement

Posted Sunday, June 09, 2013 by Talksport.co.uk

Everton defender Phil Neville has announced his retirement from the game after 19 years of Premier League action.

The 36-year-old has a Champions League and six Premier League titles to his name after a career that started at Manchester United and ended at Goodison Park.

Neville, who is currently working as coach with Stuart Pearce’s England Under-21s side, made 59 appearances for England and announced in April his intension to leave the Toffees at the end of the season after eight years at the club.

Initially he refused to rule out retirement, but has now confirmed that he will not be adding to his 505 Premier League appearances.

The defender revealed he will now look to further his footballing career as a coach, after admitting he won't aim to emulate his brother Gary, who became a analyst for Sky Sports after handing up his boots, adding that a job in the media wasn’t for him.

"Three weeks ago, everyone in the world seemed to be retiring. I thought 'I'm not jumping on this bandwagon'. I just wanted it to be a smooth, quiet turnover,” said the former Everton captain.

"When I made a statement that I was leaving Everton, everywhere I went I seemed to be getting 'oh you've been brilliant'. I didn't like it. I didn't want to be seen as an attention-seeker.

"In my heart, I knew that I wouldn't be playing again - at any level. I just wanted to drift away.

"If you had asked me two months ago, I thought I'd do a year with BBC or in the media.

"It might work for some people but not me.

"I do enjoy the media side but I want to work, I want to coach, I want to get more hours on the grass.”