France World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi retires from soccer

PARIS (AP) — France World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi announced his retirement from soccer on Friday.

The 35-year-old Matuidi won the World Cup in 2018 and made the last of his 84 appearances for Les Bleus three years ago.

“Football, I loved you so much. Football, you gave me so much, but the time has come to say stop,” Matuidi wrote on Twitter. “I’ve achieved my dreams as a child, as a man. It’s with a lump in my throat that I’m turning the page now.”

A tough ball-winner with great stamina and good passing skills, the midfielder also had an eye for goal when he pushed forward. He won four French league titles with Paris Saint-Germain and three straight in Italy with Juventus.

After playing two seasons in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, he was without a club this year.

Matuidi played for Troyes and Saint-Etienne before joining PSG in 2011.

He scored 33 goals in 295 games for PSG and was twice voted into the French league’s team of the season.

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