Celtic legend Scott Brown has confirmed his retirement from football at the age of 36.
The former Celtic midfielder left his player-coach role at Aberdeen just nine months into his two-year deal in March “to focus on his coaching development” and said he would take some time to consider his next step.
Despite Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou opening the door for a potential return for Brown to Parkhead, Brown has confirmed that he has hung up his boots in order to take greater steps towards management.
Brown told Record Sport: “It’s been a very difficult decision to call time on my playing career but I’ll be 37 next month and I feel the time is right for me to announce that I’m retiring in order to focus fully on becoming a manager.
“It’s the end of one chapter but the start of a new one and I’m excited about what the future might hold.
“Obviously I will cherish some amazing moments from my time and none better than winning so many trophies during my years at Celtic. So I’m delighted that the club is now about to celebrate winning the title back.
“It was always an honour for me going out there as captain, knowing the lads were listening to you in that huddle, with 50,000 fans behind us wanting us to do our best.
“Yes my last season didn’t go that well but that’s football. You’d take nine out of 10 titles all day long! So I’ll just have to take that one on the chin. But you learn lessons from the tough times too and I think everyone at the club took those lessons on board.”
Brown made a total of 787 appearances for Hibernian, Celtic and Aberdeen, a career spanning 19 years. The midfielder also lifted 23 major honours with the Celtic, most of them as captain. He also earned 55 Scotland caps during two spells for his country.
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The 36-year-old also revealed his delight at seeing Celtic doing so well under Postecoglou this season, with the green and white of Glasgow on the verge of reclaiming the Scottish Premiership title.
“I know how it feels to lift that trophy and how much hard work is required to win it,” Brown added. “So I have to take my hat off to Ange Postecoglou for the job he has done in such a short space of time. I hope the manager and the players savour every moment.