World Cup winner Carlos Marchena announced his retirement from professional football on Tuesday at the age of 36.

Marchena played 69 times for Spain and enjoyed the most successful period of his club career during a nine-year spell with Valencia, winning two La Liga titles, the Spanish Cup and UEFA Cup.

He also won the European Championships with Spain in 2008 before being part of the 2010 World Cup team, but was left out of the squad for the successful defence of Spain's Euro crown in 2012.

Marchena's European club career ended in 2014 when he left Deportivo La Coruna, after which he was unemployed for a full year before joining Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League.

"It wasn't an easy decision, but that's life and now I'm going to head towards another stage (of life)," Marchena said in an open letter on the Spanish national team's website.

"I feel privileged to have gone through so many varied experiences."

Marchena started his career with Sevilla in the 1998/99 season and also went on to play for Benfica and Villarreal.

Source: AFP