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Former 35-year-old defender Juliano Belletti officially announced the end of his professional career. The experienced veteran motivated his decision by health problems.
"I would like to continue playing, but my body no longer allows me to do so. I am ending my career due to health-related issues," said the Brazilian.
This year, the defender had signed a contract with the Brazilian club "Ceara", but it was mutually terminated and he apologized to the team. Belletti has been suffering from Achilles tendon pain very often recently.
In 2002, Belletti arrived in Europe to play and represented the "Villarreal" team for two seasons, later signing a contract with "Barcelona". It was with the Catalan club that the defender achieved the most glorious victory of his career - becoming a champion of the Champions League. Moreover, in the decisive match against London's "Arsenal," the Brazilian scored the winning goal after coming on as a substitute and defeated the "Gunners" goalkeeper Manuel Almunia to secure victory for Barcelona. This was Belletti's first and only goal scored while representing the Catalan club.
In 2007, the player moved to London's "Chelsea," and in 2010, to "Fluminense." Belletti played professionally for 17 years.
