Baggio announces retirement date

Italian star Roberto Baggio has announced his decision to retire from professional football at the end of this season’s Serie A campaign.

“I believe this will be my last season,” Baggio told Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Brescia captain will bid farewell to football after 17 years in Italy’s top flight, following his Serie A debut in September 1986.

Baggio, who was named FIFA World Player of the year in 1993 after a fantastic season with former club Juventus, is currently recovering from a right knee operation and is set to return to action on September 14.

The 36-year-old, who joined Brescia in September 2000 from Inter Milan, has been a regular in Carlo Mazzone’s side, making 32 league appearances last term and scoring 12 goals as he helped his side claim ninth place in Italy’s top flight.

And Baggio, whose contract with Brescia ends next summer, is aiming to finish his illustrious career on a high note by reaching a career total of 200 Serie A goals, with only seven to go before he achieves that landmark.

The Former Italian international has yet to decide what he will do once he retires from football, although he has admitted that coaching is not on his list of priorities.

“A coaching position has not entered my mind when I retire, it is not my priority,” Baggio said.