© EuroFootball.com
One of the most famous goalkeepers of the past decades, Frenchman Fabien Barthez, announced on Thursday that he is ending his football career for personal reasons.
"I'm stepping back from the French national team, stepping back from club football," 35-year-old F. Barthez told French television TF1 on Thursday. "I will be happy even without football."
F. Barthez has been without a club since last June, when he left Marseille after the season and returned to his hometown near Toulouse, where his sick mother was.
The eccentric F. Barthez, who represented the French national team 87 times, defended the team's goal from the victorious 1998 World Cup in France to the World Cup in Germany this year, where "Les Bleus" lost to Italy in the final after a penalty shootout.
He made his debut for the national team in 1994 in a match against Australia, which the French won 1-0.
In 1993, the bald goalkeeper won the Champions League with Marseille, and in 1995 moved to Monaco.
Later, the Frenchman moved to Manchester United, where he spent three years and became the English champion twice in 2001 and 2003.
In the middle of the 2003-2004 season, F. Barthez returned to Marseille and in 2004 reached the final of the UEFA Cup, where he was shown a red card, and Valencia triumphed.
