Ex-Man Utd, Trinidad legend Yorke calls it quits

Dwight Yorke, the forward who won a Champions League winners medal with Manchester United in 1999 after enjoying a successful career with Aston Villa, has announced his retirement from professional soccer.

Yorke, who also captained Trinidad and Tobago at the 2006 World Cup, joined Aston Villa in 1989, before moving to Old Trafford in 1998 for more than $20 million. He won three successive league titles with the Red Devils, scoring 64 goals in 151 appearances for the club, before moving to Blackburn Rovers in 2002 and Birmingham City in 2004.

A short spell in Australia with Sydney FC was followed by a return to England with Sunderland in 2006, where he played mainly as a holding midfielder.

"I hope people will say that I played the game in the right way with a smile on my face," Yorke told BBC Sport. "While I'm still in great shape, I'm not getting any younger and I've had the time of my life.

"I've been blessed really. I've played alongside some of the greatest players the Premier League has ever seen in Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Peter Schmeichel, and played for the greatest manager in Sir Alex Ferguson.

"I'll always count myself lucky. I was a boy on a beach from a little Caribbean island that got the chance to fulfill his dream of winning trophies at the highest level and captaining his country in their first ever World Cup finals."

Yorke recently accepted a position as assistant manager of Trinidad and Tobago for the rest of the World Cup qualifying campaign, and he reportedly would like to utilize his vast experience by managing in England one day.