FORMER England defender Steven Caulker has announced his retirement after a career which has seen him feature for 17 different sides.
The centre-back, 33, had spells with the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham, QPR, Swansea, Wigan and Southampton.
And he made a shock move to Icelandic minnows Stjarnan on a one-and-a-half-year deal in June.
But Caulker has cut his spell with the top flight side short and decided to hang up his boots to concentrate on furthering his coaching career.
In a statement shared on LinkedIn, he said: “It’s time to announce my official retirement from my playing career. Seventeen seasons, 17 teams and five different countries.
“I had a good taste of Premier League football, played and scored for England, captained Sierra Leone, played in the Olympics, spent time as a player-coach, and met some incredible people along the way.
“Along with the highs, there have been some serious lows. It’s been a rollercoaster, to say the least.
“Today, I am very grateful for having experienced both sides of the coin, as it has helped me grow as a person.
“I would like to take this moment to thank everybody who has supported me along the way: family, friends, coaches and fans.
“I look forward to now focusing full-time on my coaching and using all my experiences to help guide the next generation.
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“Let’s see what 2026 has in store.”
Caulker won one international cap for England, in a 4-2 defeat to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired Sweden in 2012, and he got his name on the scoresheet.
He also featured for Team GB at the 2012 Olympics, starting each of their clashes before being knocked out by South Korea.
But Caulker fell down the pecking order with England and decided to switch allegiance to Sierra Leone in 2021.
The former Spurs youngster was mainly deployed as an emergency striker by Jurgen Klopp during his brief loan spell with Liverpool.
Caulker has since admitted that he was drunk when he made his debut for the Merseyside giants against Arsenal.
