Former Morocco captain Medhi Benatia has announced retiring from football after a 15-year illustrious career playing for some of the biggest teams in the world.
The 34-year-old is quitting football two years after hanging his boots at the international level.
The French-born central defender has last played for Turkish Super Lig side Fatih Karagumruk.
Starting out in France, Benatia won four straight titles during spells in Germany and Italy.
He won two Bundesliga titles and a German Cup with Bayern Munich and three Serie A championships, two Italian Cups with Juventus. He lost the Champions League final in 2017 with the Old Lady to Real Madrid.
Benatia captained the Atlas Lions at the 2018 World Cup and played for the North African giants at four Africa Cup of Nations. He made over 60 appearances for Morocco at the international stage, scoring twice.
“This job has also allowed me to defend and represent my country, Morocco, with whom I have experienced unforgettable moments, the various Nations Cups but in particular the 2018 World Cup,” he said in an Instagram statement Thursday.
“From a young age I had only one dream, to become a professional footballer.
“To get there, I had to force myself to work hard, make sacrifices, but above all set new goals at each stage of my career.
“Thank God I had the good fortune to become a professional footballer but as they say in this profession, the hardest part is not to sign your first contract but to last over time.
“After more than 15 years of “good and loyal service” to football, having played in the most prestigious competitions, I have decided to end my career!”
Born just south of Paris to a Moroccan father and Algerian mother, Benatia was on the books of Marseille, Lorient, Tours and Clermot in France, also played for Udinese and Roma, where he was named in Serie A’s team of the 2013-14 season, in Italy before winding down his career in Qatar and Turkey.
“Throughout my career I have met great people who have allowed me to build myself, which is why I want to pay tribute to all the clubs I have been to,” he wrote before listing all 10.
“I would like to thank all those who have supported me for all this time; my parents, wife, children, agent, close friends and you who follow me. They say that the end of one thing is always the beginning of another.”
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