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maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 14 NOVEMBER 2018 21 SPORTS FOOTBALL SPORTS FOOTBALL FORMER England, West Ham and Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has announced his retirement. Cole, who turned 37 last week, made 716 professional appearances, scoring 104 goals for seven clubs, and complet- ed his career with Tampa Bay Rowdies in the United Soccer League. He now wishes to pur- sue a career as a coach. He made 56 England appear- ances and appeared in three World Cup tournaments after making his debut aged 19 fol- lowing an impressive start to his career at West Ham. Cole said in a statement yesterday: "After 20 years as a professional, the time has come for me to hang up my boots. It has been a dream come true. All of it. "Whatever is next, I hope the next two decades are as special as my last 20 years as a professional have been. A huge thanks to everyone who helped me along that path." Cole joined West Ham at the age of eight and made 187 ap- pearances, scoring 18 goals, in two spells, from 1998 to 2003 and 2013-14. He made his debut as a 17-year-old in January 1999, graduating to become captain, leaving for Chelsea only after the Hammers' relegation from the Premier League. Cole won every domestic hon- our during his time at Chelsea, contributing to the Blues' first championship in 50 years in 2004-05 under Jose Mourinho. European success proved elusive as Cole was in the Chelsea side beaten by Man- chester United on penalties in the 2008 Champions League final in Moscow. A two-and-a-half-year spell at Liverpool saw Cole make just 42 appearances, scor- ing five goals, and included a 2011-12 loan spell in Ligue 1 at Lille, where he played alongside Eden Hazard. A season-long return to West Ham was followed by spells at Aston Villa, Coventry and then the Rowdies. Cole was part of England's so-called 'Golden Generation', playing alongside David Beck- ham, Wayne Rooney, Rio Fer- dinand, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard, plus John Terry and Frank Lampard, who were his team- mates at Chelsea. He added: "I've been incred- ibly fortunate to have played with some of the very best play- ers of my era and even more fortunate to call a lot of them friends. Winning trophies at Chelsea was particularly spe- cial for me. Those memories will live with me forever, as will the chance I had to share them with my family. "Looking to the future, I want to stay involved in the game. I feel I can offer a lot as a coach. To lend my experience to help other young footballers achieve their dreams, just like I did, is a big passion of mine." Joe Cole announces retirement from football IN a bid to deal with Brexit and boost the number of home- grown players, the English Football Association (FA) is planning to reduce the number of overseas players in Premier League squads to 12 from 17, the London Times newspaper reported yesterday. The proposal, to be put to the clubs this week, would mean significant changes to a number of sides. Thirteen clubs have more than 12 overseas players in their first team squads this season. The FA would in return agree to give a governing body en- dorsement, usually issued for a non-EU/European Economic Area elite player to help the development of football in England, for a work permit for every foreign player who gets a contract with a Premier League club, the report said. If the clubs fail to reach agree- ment with the FA on Brexit, they could face a "no-deal" scenario where all EU players would have to fulfil the same criteria that non-EU players do now to get a work permit, the report added. "We are continuing to work with the Premier League, EFL (English Football League) and a range of government de- partments, including: DCMS (Department for Digital, Cul- ture, Media and Sport); Home Office; Treasury during this consultation period," an FA spokesperson said. British Prime Minister The- resa May said on Monday that there were still considerable unresolved issues with the Eu- ropean Union over Brexit as the two sides approached the "endgame" in negotiations for departure from the bloc. English FA to cut foreign players in Premier League Romelu Menama Lukaku Bolingoli is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for English club Manchester United