Former England captain and Manchester City defender Steph Houghton will retire at the end of the current Women's Super League season, she announced on Wednesday. Houghton, 35, has 121 caps for the England women's team. She was named England captain in 2014 and led her country to a bronze medal at the 2015 World Cup.
“Making the decision to step down is a difficult thing to do. Age comes to every player, but it doesn't get any easier to say the words out loud. Football has been my life, my passion and I loved the career I had
,” she said in a statement posted on social media.
“I will always feel very humbled to have made so many appearances on the national stage, to have captained my country and to have represented England and the GB team in so many international tournaments”
, she added. Houghton, who began his career at Sunderland, joined City from Arsenal in 2014 and has since made almost 150 league appearances.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to represent Sunderland, Leeds United, Arsenal and experience the incredible journey I have had with Manchester City over the last ten years
,” said Houghton.
“I hope that I will leave football in a better state than when I started and that I will have contributed, to some extent, to giving the girls of tomorrow a better future in football
,” she said. added.