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Peter Crouch has announced his retirement from football at the age of 38 after more than 21 years as a professional footballer. 

The former Liverpool, Tottenham, Stoke and Burnley striker who won 42 caps for England in a career that also included spells at Southampton and Portsmouth, made the announcement this morning.

"If you told me at 17 I'd play in World Cups, get to a Champions League final, win the FA Cup and get 100 Premier League goals, I would have avoided you at all costs," Crouch wrote on Twitter.

"It's been an absolute dream come true. Our wonderful game has given me everything. I'm so thankful to everyone who helped me get there and helped me stay there for so long." 

The 6ft 7in striker, who scored 22 times for England admitted the prospect of retirement was "scary" saying: "To go from being a regular starter to someone whose role is limited to 10 or 15 minutes off the bench has been hard to accept.

"I will be 39 in January but I am physically fit and could have carried on. What I didn't want to be was someone who was thrown on to have balls smashed up to them." 

During his 21-years career as a footballer, Peter Crouch scored 108 goals in 468 Premier League appearances and won the FA Cup in 2005-06 with Liverpool. He also played in the Champions League final in 2007 as part of Rafael Benitez's side.