Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has admitted the time was right to announce his retirement this week.
The 35-year-old called time on his career having made over 600 appearances for United, winning the Premier League title eight times, the Champions League twice and the FA Cup three times.
But Neville’s last couple of seasons have been ravaged by injury and, having not made an appearance for the first-team since New Year’s Day, he admits time has simply caught up with him.
The ex-Red Devils skipper, who also won 85 England caps, told MUTV: “It's been a combination of events over the last couple of months and I've sort of known for the last few weeks.
“I've been speaking to the manager and obviously he said that you can't just go and do something like that so quickly.
“So I went away for a week and still came to the same conclusion that it was the right thing to do. I just felt that my time was up, so when your time's up, your time's up.
“Sometimes you just go off gut instinct, that's the type of person I am I suppose.”
He continued: “After that game on New Year's Day I felt I had reached the end.
“In fact, it wasn't after that game, it was during. I had been thinking about it for a month or so before that. You don't just give up after one bad game. I had enough of them over the last 20 years to know that can happen.
“But the way I felt at the start of the season, when I started picking up injuries, there is only so many times you can come back.
“Your mentality is such at this club that you are always willing to go again. But sometimes you get a feeling in your mind that you just can't go again and that time had come for me.
“In the previous two seasons I had played 25-30 games and there was always a period where I felt I was contributing.
“I just felt that it was the right time. I played my last game against West Bromwich and came to the conclusion pretty quickly after that that it didn't feel right.
“Time was up and I didn't want to delay four months in my mind, it just wouldn't have been right for me.
“I think that the manager and the club deserve after everything they've done for me to know that as well. So they accepted and supported the decision.”