Former England goalkeeper Ben Foster has announced his retirement from football at the age of 39.
The shot-stopper has been without a club since the end of last season when he left Watford following the Hornets’ relegation from the Premier League. The 39-year-old had offers from clubs but has decided to hang up his gloves instead.
One of those clubs was Newcastle, reports the Daily Mail, who had an offer turned down last week by Foster. The Magpies were looking for a backup to Nick Pope after Karl Darlow suffered an injury in training and in the end, signed former Liverpool star, Loris Karius.
Foster has stated that the reason behind rejecting Newcastle was that he did not want to move away from his family who live in the Midlands.
Throughout his career, Foster made 536 senior appearances at club level. The Englishman played for a large number of clubs in England and earned eight caps for the national team.
Foster won the League Cup three times during his career, as well as the Championship play-offs and the Football League Trophy.
The 39-year-old was a popular figure throughout his career and that has carried over to his off-the-field life. Foster runs a popular podcast called Fozcast, which he will look to grow further now that he is retired, and that is likely to be just one of a number of things the goalkeeper will try in the future.