Saha announces retirement

Rome, Italy – Louis Saha announced Thursday his decision to retire from professional football.

Saha, who turned 35 on Thursday, called time on a career that spanned 17 years and included stints in England, Italy and his native France.

He began his career with Metz in 1997 before making the move to England to sign for Fulham in 2000. His 64 goals in 144 appearances for the Cottagers caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson, who brought the striker to Manchester United for $20 million in January 2004. Injuries marred Saha's time at Old Trafford, but he still managed to produce 42 goals in 124 appearances for the club before moving on to Everton in 2008. Saha bagged 35 goals in 115 games with the Toffees before making enjoying brief spells with Tottenham, Sunderland and Lazio to close out his career.

Saha also made 20 appearances for France, scoring four goals.