BREDE HANGELAND has announced his retirement from football aged 35.
The giant Premier League star made 295 appearances in English football for Fulham and Crystal Palace but has decided to hang up his boots after struggling to break into the Eagles side over the last two seasons.
And his chances of featuring for the Eagles next season would have been further restricted after boss Alan Pardew moved to net former West Ham defender James Tomkins in a £10million deal earlier this summer.
The Norwegian starred in Fulham’s backline during their run to the Europa League final in 2010.
And his performances in the lead-up to that season earned him the kind of rave reviews that saw Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger takes an interest.
Explaining his decision, Hangeland said: “I’ve thought long and hard about the future and decided it’s time to end it.
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“So I’m announcing my retirement after a long time and half of that time in this lovely country.
“You can choose to be sad that’s it over or you can be happy that it’s happened.
“I feel so fortunate. It’s obviously sad when it comes to an end but I think it’s important to know when the time is right to finish.”
After seven seasons at Craven Cottage, the six-foot-four centre-back left when the club suffered relegation to the Championship.
Former Palace boss Tony Pulis took him to Selhurst Park, but a string of niggling injuries restricted him to just 25 league and cup appearances over the past two seasons.
Hangeland started out with Viking in his homeland, scooping the Norwegian Cup, before playing two and a half seasons for Copenhagen – winning the the Danish Superliga twice.
He made 91 appearances for his country, scoring four times and captaining them on over 35 occasions.
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