A year after playing his final game for Inter Miami, French midfielder Blaise Matuidi announced his retirement from professional soccer.
The 35-year-old took to social media on Friday to reveal the news, after spending the 2022 MLS season away from the game despite having a year left on his contract with the Herons.
"Football, I loved you so much. Football, you have given me so much, but the time has come to stop," the 2018 World Cup winner with France wrote on his official channels.
Matuidi, whose club resumé also includes stints with Troyes, Saint-Etienne, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, signed with Miami in June 2020, registering 2g/2a in 47 regular-season games. His last appearance came in Nov. 2021, a 1-0 Decision Day loss to the New England Revolution.
One of three marquee signings during Miami's inaugural 2020 season, alongside Rodolfo Pizarro and Gonzalo Higuaín, Matuidi is the second of the group to retire this year. "Pipa" called it a career after the Herons were eliminated by New York City FC in Round One of the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Pizarro, who spent last season on loan in his native Mexico with CF Monterrey, is expected to leave the club ahead of the 2023 season.
