Ex-Liverpool player makes emotional statement as he ends 25 year career
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones has announced his retirement from football at the age of 41 following two years spent playing for hometown club Perth Glory.
The Australian arrived in England in 2001 as a 17-year-old in 1999, joining Middlesbrough's youth ranks before progressing into the senior setup on Teesside. Multiple loan deals followed, with just 57 league appearances over the course of ten years as compatriot Mark Schwarzer held down the number one jersey at the Riverside.
The opportunity of a lifetime followed soon after, with a move to Liverpool in 2010, joining the club he supported as a boy for £2.8 million. Jones played 27 matches for the Reds, including 16 during the 2012/13 season. He was released in 2015, but was fondly remembered as a reliable backup option to both Pepe Reina and latterly Simon Mignolet.
Jones joined Bradford City for a loan spell in 2015/16 and made just three appearances before he was signed by Eredivisie club Feyenoord, keeping 17 clean sheets as the Rotterdam club won the Eredivisie title during the 2016/17 season. He kept his place during the 2017/18 campaign, making five appearances in the Champions League and winning the Dutch Cup.
He moved away from Europe in 2018, making a move to Saudi Arabia before returning to play for Perth Glory for the final two years of his career before announcing his retirement this week. In a statement, Jones thanked fans of his former clubs for their support during his 25 year career.
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He wrote: "The time has come to hang up my gloves and bring to an end this long journey that has taken me all over the world for the last 25yrs doing what I could only dream of as a young boy in Perth.
Jones won the Eredivisie with Feyenoord ((Photo by VI Images via Getty Images))"I've had the privilege to play alongside some of the best players in the world and work with some fantastic coaches that have helped me along the way.
"To the fans of my former clubs, I thank you for your support. It is amazing to think that I have been apart of some historic moments for some of them."
Jones' time with Liverpool was marked with sadness, with the death of his five-year-old son, Luca, from Leukaemia in 2011. Liverpool's players wore black armbands during their next match against Chelsea, with the club sending its condolences to his family.
Jones continued his statement by paying tribute to his wife, Dani, with a nomadic career coming to an end, he continued "I have to thank my wife Dani, who has had to make many sacrifices, moving wherever my career took us. And also my 3 children who have now lived in 4 countries and have always adapted and made the decisions to move so much easier.
"Unfortunately, my time at Perth Glory was disrupted with niggles and what was originally thought to be a fairly small injury has now kept me out for over a year, and ultimately put an end to my playing days."
“I hope to continue to stay involved in football in some capacity in the future and continue to part of the beautiful game.
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