Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has announced his retirement from football at the age of 39.
Foster has been without a club since being released by Watford at the expiry of his contract this summer.
Newcastle United were interested in signing the shot-stopper on a short-term contract to offer backup for Nick Pope, who is out for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury.
Foster, on the other hand, has disclosed that he turned down the opportunity to transfer to St James’ Park and believes the time has come to call it quits.
Is Ben Foster Retiring?
Ben Foster said on his podcast, The Cycling GK, “Deep down I didn’t want to do it [turn down Newcastle].”
It’s time to say goodbye 👍😘https://t.co/lIDefeueeN pic.twitter.com/2Pgza5VEzi
— Ben Foster (@BenFoster) September 15, 2022
“It sounds mad and it’s such a hard thing to explain because there’ll be millions of people up and down the country that will say ‘you’ve just been offered a contract, a really good contract, by the richest team in the world to go and be second-choice goalkeeper and be part of something’.
“But I just didn’t want to do it, I had this deep feeling, and the wrench of it was that I’d have to move away from home, that would kill me.
“If I’m in an apartment in Newcastle by myself, away from my family, I don’t think people can understand. That’s hard to do, especially at the age I am and with everything else I’ve got going on.
“I know for a fact if I’d have gone there I’d have had an amazing time, the lads would have been absolutely brilliant and I’d have buzzed off the stadium, the fans, all that kind of stuff, but the overriding sinking feeling was ‘I don’t want to do this.”
Newcastle have quickly moved on from their failed pursuit of Ben Foster, announcing the signing of former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius on a one-year deal until January.
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What Clubs Did Foster Play For?
Foster, who was born in Warwickshire, began his professional career with Stoke City but never made a senior appearance for the club.
The goalkeeper was loaned out to five different clubs, including Wrexham, where he was seen by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who signed the then 22-year-old in 2005.
Ben Foster spent the majority of his five-year stint at Old Trafford as a backup goalkeeper, making 23 appearances in all competitions and won the EFL Cup in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Foster then spent one season with Birmingham City, where he won the EFL Cup in 2010-11, before joining West Bromwich Albion, where he appeared in 223 games during a seven-year period.
The eight-cap England international finished his career at Watford, where he had previously spent two separate loan spells during his early days at Manchester United, and where he helped the Hornets earn promotion to the Premier League on two occasions.
Ben Foster made 519 appearances in his 22-year career and finished with more Premier League minutes (34,959) than any other player in the division’s history.
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