Glen Johnson has announced his retirement from professional football.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT on Monday, the former Liverpool, Chelsea and England defender revealed he has decided to hang up his boots after 16 years at the highest level.
He told the Jim White show: “Today is the day I’m officially saying I’ve retired.
“I knew halfway through last season I was going to call it a day. I always wanted to retire at an age where my body still felt good.
“Every player knows when their time is up. Mentally, I always wanted to stop quite young and also you can’t always play the game the way you want to play the game when you’re 34.”
Johnson made 54 appearances for England between 2003-2014, playing in two World Cups and a European Championship.
He began his career with West Ham, coming through their academy and making his Premier League debut for the Hammers in January 2003 at the age of 18.
Johnson made just 16 first-team appearances for the Hammers before he was snapped up by London rivals Chelsea for £6million – the first of the Roman Abramovich era.
The full-back went on to play 71 times for the Blues, winning the Premier League and League Cup during a four-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
Johnson joined Portsmouth in 2007 and played a key role in their FA Cup victory in his debut season at Fratton Park.
He was named in the PFA Team of the Year in his second campaign with Pompey and was bought by Liverpool in an £18.5m deal.
In six seasons at Anfield, Johnson made 200 appearances and was part of the Liverpool team which won the League Cup in 2012.
The 34-year-old was most recently at Stoke, but left the club in the summer following their relegation from the Premier League.
Johnson added: “The middle of last season my head wasn’t at the right place. I wasn’t enjoying it.
“That was the point that I thought I was going to knock it on the head.
“I will always love the game but I wish I could play it like I was 25 every week.
“At 34, I’m not the same player, and I didn’t enjoy that.”