Former Brighton and Crystal Palace striker Glenn Murray announces retirement

Former Brighton and Crystal Palace forward Glenn Murray has announced his retirement at the age of 37.

The striker joined Nottingham Forest on a short-term deal in February but was released at the end of the campaign and has decided to bring his playing career to an end after 16 seasons.

Murray said on Twitter: “To all the clubs, players and fans that I’ve come across on this life changing journey… thank you from the bottom of my heart. It’s been a pleasure, hanging them up from 31/05/21.”

After a stint in non-league with Workingham Reds and with Wilmington Hammerheads in America during the infancy of his career, the striker embarked on a journey which saw him play in English football’s top six tiers.

Born in Cumbria, it was at the opposite end of the country where Murray first made a name for himself after he fired Brighton to the Sky Bet League One title in 2011 with 22 goals.

A move to Crystal Palace followed and he scored 30 times during the Eagles’ promotion winning season to the Premier League in 2013, which was a Championship record until Brentford’s Ivan Toney eclipsed him this term.

Murray returned to Brighton in 2016 and helped them go up to the Premier League for the first time in their history with 23 goals in the first season of his second spell with the Seagulls.

Overall, the forward found the net 111 times for Brighton to place him second on the club’s all-time scoring list, won promotion on four occasions and scored more than 200 career goals.

“I feel as though the time is right and I wanted to retire at a good level,” Murray, who is set to go into the media industry, told the official club website.

“I’ve had a lot of good years in the game, but this seems the right time to call it a day.

“Give me six months, a year and I might miss it so much that I want to give back to the club in some capacity as a coach. But at the moment that isn’t the route I am going down.”