Barthez Announces Retirement

Barthez Retires
By Chris O'Brien
October 20 2006

Fabien Barthez has announced his retirement from professional football. The 35-year-old made 139 Manchester United appearances after joining the club in a £7,800,000 deal, and has now decided to hang up his gloves after defeat in the World Cup final against Italy.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez has announced his immediate retirement from professional football.

The 35-year-old has been without a club since leaving Olympique Marseille at the end of last season and has decided to hang up his gloves after a summer in the wilderness.

"I will now keep having fun away from football." said Barthez.

The curtain was brought down on Barthez's glittering career in Germany with the World Cup Final turning out to be the player's final match in the game. The eccentric bald-headed stopper kept a clean sheet as the game went to penalties, but couldn't stop any of Italy's efforts from twelve yards as the Azzuri went onto clinch the trophy. He went through the entire tournament conceding only two goals, denying the likes of Brazil and Portugal as Les Bleus marched onto the final.

Barthez's honours include winning the World Cup with France in 1998 and the European Championship two years later. He won the Champions League with Marseille in 1993 and also secured two Premiership titles at Old Trafford, though his tenure with the club was blighted by a series of high-profile blunders.

One of the game's most colourful characters, Barthez has never been far away from controversy and has always had his critics. He has twice been hit with long-term suspensions; out of action for four-months in 1996 after taking a recreational drug and spending five-months on the sidelines last year after spitting at a match official. However, though often accused of inconsistency, it cannot be denied that the Frenchman was a world-class shot stopper who spent 15 years playing top level football.

After the World Cup, Barthez told the press that he would consider playing on for a further two years and was hoping to make a move to Toulouse, his first club, where he could be closer to his sick mother. However, such a transfer has failed to materialise and the player has decided to call it a day on both the club and international scene. Having made some 139 appearances for United; ManUtdWeb wish him all the best for retirement.