West Ham centre-back James Collins bid adieu to the game

West Ham united James Collins announced his retirement from the game after being idle for almost an year

The 37-year-old has not been in matching with any club since being released by Ipswich in May 2019.

When asked if he was still looking for a new club, Collins told Soccer AM: “No, finished. Yeah, I’m all done. Retired.

“I wasn’t going to say anything, I was going to float off and not say anything.”

Collins has started his club career with Cardiff City, before moving to West Ham and later Aston Villa.

He has made a total of 279 appearances in the Premier League and scored 11 goals in the top-flight.

Collins earned 51 caps for Wales, scoring three goals, and was part of the squad for Euro 2016 when the side reached the semi-finals.

Collins has posted his self announced farewell on instagram for his fans saying:

 “This will not come as a surprise to most people as I haven’t played for a season now.

“But with a heavy heart I’ve decided to officially retire from football.

“After a lot of thought I believe this is the best thing to do so I can draw a line under my 20-year career and move on to my next chapter in life.

“I would like to thank all the players and fans at all the clubs I played for.”