Matthew Le Tissier has announced he will call time on his 16-year Southampton career next month.
The former England midfielder has chosen to retire after his testimonial match at Saints' St Mary's Stadium on May 14th.
The 33-year-old, out of contract at the end of this season, has endured an injury-plagued final season and decided he was fighting a losing battle to regain his fitness.
He informed club chairman Rupert Lowe of his decision, and the news Southampton supporters had been fearing was inevitable was today posted on the club's official website.
Le Tissier said: "In the end it was not a hard decision. I have been tending more and more towards this over recent months. It has been terribly frustrating at times.
"It has been an increasing trend over the last three years, with one niggling injury after another. I could not face another season like this one."
Le Tissier, who scored 209 goals in his 462 appearances but managed only five of those - all as a substitute - in the current campaign, was capped eight times by England.
He will remain at Southampton in an 'ambassadorial' role but felt unable to continue as a player and face the prospect of picking up wages for a job in which he no longer felt able to give his all.
He said: "Even if the club offered me a contract for sentimental reasons I could not take money under false pretences.
"If I thought I could play on at my best then that would be different - but my body is not so much giving me hints as screaming at me."
PA