By Chris,
September 4 2009
Former Manchester United frontman Dwight Yorke has announced his retirement from the professional game. The 37-year-old has recently been appointed assistant manager of the Trinidad and Tobago national side and has hung up his boots to concentrate on the coaching side.
Yorke joined United in 1998 in a high-profile
£12.6million move from Aston Villa.
The Trinidad
and Tobago star had a hugely impressive
goalscoring record with the Villains, bagging 97 goals from 288 games.
At Old Trafford, Yorke formed a famous partnership
with Andy Cole
and bagged no fewer than 64 goals under
Sir Alex Ferguson. Yorke and Cole's goalscoring heroics, in particular, laid
the foundations for United's Treble-winning glory in 1999.
However, Yorke slipped out of first-team contention
amid rumours regarding his personal life. He went onto play for Blackburn, Birmingham City
and Sydney before joining Sunderland.
The Caribbean star sent a brief spell as assistant
boss at Sunderland, but was released by the
Black Cats in May 2009. He failed to find a new club and has decided to hang up
his boots and concentrate on a coaching role with his country.
Speaking to BBC, an emotional Yorke highlighted his
spell at Old Trafford when looking back on his illustrious career, saying: "While I'm still in
great shape, I'm not getting any younger and I've had the time of my life.
"I've
been blessed really. I've played alongside some of the greatest players the
Premier League has ever seen in Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David
Beckham, Peter Schmeichel, and played for the greatest manager in Sir Alex
Ferguson."
Good luck to Yorke in the future - your smiling face and heroics in front of goal have provided United's faithful with plenty of great memories.
Can just watch it again and again, the way they drag the defenders all over the place
